Of Love and Business
by Amnestyyy
Summary: She knew she was here because she needed the money for college. But with a customer like this, how could she ever think of this - her first client - as business? Modern AU, Elsanna, non-incest.
1. Chapter 1

**A little one-shot that was requested by someone who preferred to remain anonymous. Also, a little bit of shameless self-promotion: be sure to check out my profile for all my other stories. I've been told they aren't half-bad, but I'd really like you to be the judge of that yourself! :3**

 **Ah yes, this one-shot was supposed to be 2k words, but got a little out of hand… x3**

* * *

"Unfortunately, we're currently not looking for anyone to work in our stores. You might want to try it again during the holidays, miss."

"I'm terribly sorry, miss, but due to budget cuts, we can't hire anyone new at the moment."

"You're not exactly the kind of person we would like to see selling our products, I'm sorry."

"After much consideration, we have decided to take our chances with one of the other applicants. Thank you for applying to a position within our business!"

"We'd like to thank you for applying for a job in one of our stores. Unfortunately, the position you have applied for is no longer available."

Anna groaned, letting herself fall backwards on her couch, the numerous letters dropping to the ground. She _needed_ a job. College wasn't going to pay for itself, and if she wanted to have _any_ hope of becoming a big-time architect, she needed to find a way to pay for her education.

Everything would have been fine if that disgusting Mr. Harris hadn't been so insistent on saving money by mistreating customers. So what if Anna had paid for the lunch of a homeless guy that had come into the café? Her boss had gotten his money, the guy had gotten some food, and she'd gotten to feel good about being a decent human being.

Until she was fired. She still didn't understand the logic. And now she was desperately looking for a new job that would pay the bills. She really didn't feel like being kicked out of her dorm room, or to be kicked out of college entirely, for that matter.

She'd applied for jobs in pretty much every store on this side of the city, and then expanded her job-hunting to include restaurants, libraries, and pretty much anything else that didn't require her to have some crazy-specific skillset.

And the letters she had just received were the only applications that she hadn't heard back from. All of them had, very politely, turned her application down. She knew it was nothing personal, but it _still_ felt like a slap in her face.

"Yo, Anna!" a voice came from the other side of the wall, accompanied with several loud thumps.

"What is it?" Anna yelled back.

"We're going out with a bunch of people, you coming?"

Anna considered her options for a moment. She really didn't have the money to spend on going out. Then again, if she was going to be kicked out of college for not paying her bills, then a few drinks more or less wouldn't make the difference either, right?

"You bet I'm coming, give me thirty minutes!"

* * *

Anna found herself in front of the humble building, squinting her eyes against the sunlight and desperately wishing she hadn't drunk that much the day before. Because really, applying for a job while having a hangover was probably not the best of ideas. Still, she didn't have a lot of choice.

A friend of a friend's friend, her name was Megara, Anna thought, had told her about this little business, where they were always looking for young and talented women. It had taken Anna a few subtle, and several not-so-subtle hints from other friends before she had understood Megara was talking about an escort service.

She had bluntly shut their conversation down. When she'd been home, in bed, however, she had started considering that working as an escort might just be worth it, if it meant not being kicked out of college. It wasn't her dream job – and her parents would die if they found out she even considered taking it.

When the sun had risen above the horizon, Anna had decided that, if nothing else, she could at least _try_ the job. If it wasn't to her liking, she'd just quit. But if it paid the bills and kept her in college, then surely it would be worth whatever ugliness it brought along with it.

Walking up the desk in the lobby, a middle-aged woman looked up at her. "What can I do for you, honey?"

"I'm… I'm looking for work?"

The woman looked at her for a few moments, as if she were scanning an article in the grocery store, before picking up her phone and mumbling some words into it. "You can take the elevator to the third floor, then go into the hallway on your right. Second door on the left, good luck, honey."

Anna followed the instructions to the letter, finding herself knocking on a dark red door. "Come in!"

The woman behind the desk was of middle age, her hair already starting to turn grey, yet her make-up and hairdo and overall appearance were as immaculate as Anna ever saw on anyone. She looked kind enough, nothing like the dirty, fat, old men her friends had tried to scare her with last night.

Though everything was a little blurry, and maybe they'd been talking about the customers when they described the stereotype. Anna couldn't be sure.

"Sit down, child. Dear lord, you _are_ a looker, aren't you?"

"Uh, thanks?"

"So, why do you want to work for our firm?" the woman immediately got to business.

"Well, I need the money," Anna admitted honestly. "And I couldn't find a job anywhere else."

"Honesty is the best policy," the woman smiled. "You'd be surprised how many women come here, telling me that it has always been their dream to work for us. You'd think they weren't even aware of the position they were applying for!"

"I'm applying for the position of-"

"Escort, yes, yes."

"Okay."

"You're hired."

"Really? Just like that?"

"Of course. You're a beautiful young woman. I'm sure I can find plenty of customers for you."

"Uh, great?"

"Just a few things we need to get out of the way. First of all, your identity or likeness will not be made public. Only our established customers get access to our girls, so that should be fine. We'll need to take a picture of you, preferably a little risqué, once you've provided us with one, we can start presenting you to possible customers."

"Okay, noted."

"Then, would you like men or women?"

"What?"

"As customers, men, or women? Or both, perhaps?"

Anna considered her answer for a while. Would it be strange for her to sleep with a woman, she wondered? The answer was an obvious yes. Then again, her mind spoke up, it would also be strange for her to sleep with a man she didn't even know… So then, really, it didn't make much of a difference, did it?

"Both, I suppose?"

"Really? That's quite marvelous. We don't even have close to enough girls willing to work with another woman."

They continued to discuss 'business' for a while longer, and soon after, Anna found herself back at home. She had been promised that they would contact her whenever they had a customer for her, and that it would pay handsomely. Apparently, she had signed up for a more high-end escort service than she had expected. All she had to do was send them an enticing photo.

Diving in her underwear drawer, Anna fished some of her most sexy lingerie from the back. They had been a Christmas present from one of her exes, she remembered with a grimace. Soon enough, she found herself standing in front of her mirror, mostly naked, fumbling with the camera to get a good angle.

She was rather pleased with the lacy, black lingerie, yet none of the pictures seemed to come out the way she wanted them to. She had hoped to look sexy, confident and seducing. Most of her pictures reminded her of the bathroom selfies one so often found on social media. Definitely not something she'd sent to an escort service.

Two hours later, and at least twenty-five pictures, Anna decided to take a break and continue tonight. Maybe daylight just didn't do her complexion justice. She'd try something with candles and drapes over her lights. Yeah, that would certainly work.

* * *

Anna was busily trying to get her social media up to date, simultaneously looking up images from last night's party, when her phone rang. For a moment, she considered ignoring it, since she really didn't feel like partaking in any social activities at the moment.

As the phone kept ringing, though, she decided she might as well answer it. If for no other reason, then at least to make that annoying sound stop, and keep her skull from splitting apart.

"Anna speaking," she grunted.

"Miss Anderson," the stiff voice from the other side of the line came, sounding rather distressed, "We have a customer for you."

Anna felt both elated and dreadful at the same time. "Really? I thought I had to-"

"Yes, yes, I know. But a high-profile client called, requesting one of our girls, and you're currently the only one we can send that fits the client's preferences. Don't worry, it will all be by the book, and you'll get paid extra for the… inconvenience of the matter."

Anna took a deep breath, hardly believing that she was _actually_ going to do this. "Alright, what do I need to do?"

"Just make sure you look your best, and meet the client at the following address at eight," the woman replied, sounding immensely relieved. She continued to provide Anna with the necessary details of the job, and the way in which she would be paid, finishing with a heartfelt 'thank you' before ending the call.

Looking at the clock revealed that Anna had three hours to get ready, which should really be plenty of time.

* * *

It wasn't.

By the time Anna pulled up to the house – a rather large and very modern-looking mansion on the outskirts of the city, it was a quarter past eight, and Anna's heart had permanently relocated to her throat.

She nervously climbed out, pulling her little black dress back down to at least cover the essentials, and clutching her purse in a vice-like grip. She had half a mind to crawl back, jump into the car and race away, tell the escort service that she had made a humongous mistake.

But she _really_ needed the money, and yeah, this seemed the only way to get it.

Reaching the front door, she observed the old-fashioned door-knocker, which looked wholly out of place on the door of such a modern mansion, yet also seemed oddly fitting. She grasped it and knocked three times, finding that her trepidation resounded in the knocks as much as it did in the beating of her heart and the sinking of her stomach.

She was surprised – pleasantly – to find a young woman opening the door. She had expected an older, somewhat overweight, balding man. Someone who would never be able to get any sexual interaction without paying for it. Someone creepy, repulsive, or just plain strange.

She had _not_ expected this young goddess, a few years older than her, five at most she guessed, with platinum blonde hair in a French braid, crystal blue eyes and pale skin with enchanting, pink lips curling up in a smile that was almost as shy as Anna suddenly felt.

"Yes?" the woman asked, sounding insecure and nervous.

"Hi!" Anna blurted out, awkwardly waving her hand at the stranger, who was keeping the door in between them as a shield. "I'm Anna. I'm uh… from the… y'know… escort service?"

The moment she'd said it, she realized that she might have made a huge mistake. What if her husband was the client, and his wife had come home unexpectedly. Or what if she was his daughter? That'd be awkward. It didn't seem logical for this woman to be the client, what had she been thinking?

To her surprise, the woman smiled a little wider, opening the door a little further. "Of course… Come on in," she said, gesturing down the hallway with her free arm. Anna shrugged off her jacket as she walked inside, marveling at the odd combination of modern and medieval architecture in the mansion. She was about to comment on it – small talk could only make the situation less awkward, she figured – when the gorgeous blonde offered to take her jacket and purse.

When the woman returned, Anna noticed she was fiddling with her braid that was loosely hanging over her shoulder. "I'm uh… new at this," she offered with a small smile, an adorable blush spreading out over her cheekbones. "Should we immediately go to the bedroom… or do I offer you something to drink first?"

Anna, not expecting to be taking the lead on this encounter, shrugged awkwardly. "Whichever you prefer. You're the one paying for this," she half-smiled, mentally slapping herself for bringing up the monetary issue.

"Right," the blonde nodded, still awkward but also seeming a little less worried. "Since we both know why you're here, I suppose we might as well just get it over with," she mumbled, her blush spreading down her throat.

Anna had never considered herself being with another woman, but as she watched the scarlet-red blush spreading lower and lower, she was surprised to find that she was actually really looking forward to seeing where it disappeared off to underneath the shirt. "Lead the way," she smiled winsomely – or so she hoped.

The blonde led Anna up a stairs, offering the redhead a full-on, glorious view of her butt, clad in rather tight jeans, as her hips swayed from side to side. As they closed in on what Anna assumed would be the bedroom, she felt her trepidation melting away and making place for eagerness and anticipation, mixed with an unhealthy dose of awkward still lingering all over the place.

The bedroom was a large, old-fashioned room, complete with queen-size bed, fireplace and rug. Anna, being an architecture student, couldn't help but admire her surroundings, wondering how this house had come to be. When she turned around, Elsa was standing in front of her, fiddling with her braid again.

"So, um… is there anything I should know? Like, things you don't do or that… uh… cost extra or anything?" she asked uncertainly, her eyes trailing off to the side as she used her arm to hug herself.

"Not really? I mean, if we end up doing something I'm not comfortable with, I'll be sure to let you know. I'm not really- yeah, it's uh… Maybe we should just… get started, or something?"

As the blonde nodded, Anna took a deep breath, grabbing a hold of every ounce of courage she could muster. Stepping forward, she reached out to the blonde's arm, gently removing it from her stomach as she took a hold of the hand she used to clutch her braid – moving that one to rest on her own hip.

She slowly moved forward, rubbing the tip of her nose against the blonde's, clutching her hip with one hand and moving the other to the back of her head, indicating that she was ready for the blonde to make the next move.

Anna smiled encouragingly, after which she barely managed to keep herself from sighing contently as the blonde moved forward to connect their lips. She kept telling herself that she had to be professional about this – it was just a one-night stand, after all, and she was even getting _paid_ for it – but as their kiss continued, it became progressively harder to think of it as business.

The blonde seemed to grow in confidence, gently nipping at Anna's lower lip, teasingly pulling away sometimes, only to immediately come back forward again. As their lips moved in unison, Anna felt a little grin forming, which only widened when the blonde's hand found the back of her head, gently taking a fistful of red hair. Not long after that, she felt the blonde's tongue asking for entrance, which she was all too happy to oblige in.

As they stood there, kissing each other more passionately than Anna had imagined possible mere moments ago, Anna suddenly realized something. She gently pulled back, caressing the blonde's cheek to take away the hurt look in her eyes.

"I just realized… It's a little weird for me not to know your name," she smiled shyly, suddenly feeling silly.

The blonde chuckled awkwardly. "Right. I… I suppose that makes sense? It's Elsa… I mean, I'm Elsa."

Anna nodded once, more to herself than to Elsa, before pulling Elsa back towards her. She had half a mind to coyly mutter 'pleasure to meet you, Elsa,' but she figured they were past the point of being coy already. Especially when Elsa's hands slid down her neck, took a hold of the shoulder straps of her dress and slowly slid them down her arms.

Anna didn't really pay it any heed until their kiss ended, and she realized that her dress was pooling on the floor around her feet, and that Elsa's eyes were hungrily roving over her body. Judging from the look in her eyes, Anna did not disappoint.

"See anything you like?" Anna smirked semi-confidently.

"No," Elsa blurted out, immediately groaning and scrunching her eyes shut. "I mean, I don't not like what I'm seeing but- What I'm trying to-" She brought her hand to her forehead, briefly covering her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Yes. I see a lot that I like," she said finally, smiling apologetically.

Anna smiled back at her. "I'd return the compliment, but…" she carefully tugged at the hem of Elsa's blouse, making clear what she meant without putting too much pressure on the flustered woman. Elsa looked down, and only then seemed to realize how unequal they were in terms of clothing.

"Oh, right! I'm sorry-"

"Nothing to apologize for," Anna mused, her hand gently moving lowest button of the blouse, undoing it when she didn't encounter any resistance. In fact, Elsa pulled her a little closer, trailing her hands up and down Anna's back, never straying past the hem of her panties or the strap of her bra.

Anna continued with the buttons, slowly revealing a smooth expanse of pale skin, only wavering slightly when she reached the final few buttons – the part that kept Elsa's bra covered. When the blonde gave her a small nod, Anna undid those buttons too, revealing a simple bra, holding what seemed to be two very perfect breasts.

Despite the fact that Anna was one-hundred percent certain she was straight, she could hardly wait to free them from the oppressive garment. She placed a soft kiss on the apex of Elsa's shoulder and neck, smiling to herself as she felt Elsa's hands lingering in the small of her back, eager to travel further down, but not entirely confident enough to actually do so.

She gently moved her hips from side to side – hoping to come across as seductive, or at least sexy – and indicate that she wouldn't mind. Elsa's hands travelled further in an agonizingly slow crawl as Anna continued to place gentle kisses along Elsa's collarbone.

When the smooth hands finally cupped her behind, she couldn't help a little mewl from escaping her throat. She realized it had been… quite a while since she had been intimate with anyone. And that included being intimate with herself, come to think of it.

Elsa seemed to take the sound as an encouragement, as her hands started to squeeze and massage her ass, the touches being both needy and insistent, but also careful and hesitant. Elsa only took her hands away for a brief moment after Anna had unclasped the blonde's bra, allowing it to fall to the ground, before resuming their work.

Anna's hands, meanwhile, cupped Elsa's breasts, giving them much the same treatment as Elsa's hands were providing, causing her partner's body to shiver with anticipation. After a brief kiss, Anna moved her mouth southwards again, quickly reaching perfectly pink and already stiffening nipples, which she lavished with the attention that they deserved.

As Elsa unhooked her bra, Anna wondered how, against all expectations, this didn't feel strange at all. By all accounts, this should have been awkward and odd for her – being with a woman, being with someone she never met before, getting paid for doing what she did – but it didn't. Or maybe she was just too aroused for her mind to process those feelings.

One of the hands started playing with Anna's breasts, which were slightly smaller than Elsa's but seemed to be very much to the blonde's liking, judging by the rapt attention with which she caressed, squeezed and stroked them.

Anna suckled on one of Elsa's nipples, eliciting a soft, throaty moan. She was pulled up for a quick, chaste kiss, after which Elsa took a small step back and looked at her with a myriad of different _stuff_ visible in her eyes – lust and arousal, definitely, but also something that Anna could only interpret as affection.

"Perhaps we'd be… uh, more comfortable on the bed?" the blonde asked softly, apparently having lost all of the confidence she'd had a moment before.

Anna smirked. "With those jeans? I really doubt that."

Elsa was out of her jeans quicker than Anna could have imagined, suddenly finding herself faced with even more creamy, flawless skin, the only barrier being the panties that they were both still wearing.

Taking Elsa's hands in her own, the redhead slowly led the blonde to the bed – even though it was only a few steps – gently laying her down and climbing on top of her. The feeling of their breasts rubbing and pressing together caused both of them to make a throaty noise – resulting in a giggle escaping the both of them as well.

As they looked into each other's eyes, Anna felt as if a switch had been turned, all light-heartedness suddenly being replaced by their lust, and the need to feel each other. Her hands took a firm hold of Elsa's breasts as she crashed their mouths together, her tongue aggressively invading Elsa's mouth – who reciprocated eagerly as her hands traveled back to Anna's butt.

As their kissing continued, their actions grew progressively more needy, as did their labored breaths and throaty mewls. After only a few minutes, Anna felt Elsa's fingers carefully trailing over her core. Even with her panties still muffling the feeling, it sent a shudder of delight through her spine, and a drawn-out moan from her throat.

Elsa continued with that motion, which Anna found to be both heaven and hell – it felt great, but at the same time she wanted more.

"You can… y'know… if you want to, that is," she whispered against Elsa's neck, wiggling her butt slightly. That apparently got the message across, as Elsa hooked her fingers behind Anna's panties and slowly pulled them down, offering a slightly sheepish smile as she did so.

The blonde's fingers on her core – now without the panties in between – almost made Anna want to cry out. Her fingers were slightly chilly, which only increased the pleasure as they eagerly and softly explored her wet folds.

She felt Elsa lifting her hips underneath her, straining against Anna's weight, but allowing the redhead to remove her panties as well. Anna eagerly slid her hand across the smooth expanse of belly, reaching a patch of blonde hair, and after that, Elsa's wet center.

She smiled against the blonde's breasts as she arched her back when Anna's fingers spread her lips, another finger coyly teasing her entrance. She felt one of Elsa's fingers sliding into her, which threw her off her game for a bit, releasing a sharp gasp from the feeling of Elsa's digit inside her.

She quickly mimicked the motion, inserting one finger inside the blonde, immediately followed by a second – which the blonde, in turn, also pushed into her. Consciously or not, the two started moving their hands in exactly the same rhythm, their mouths alternating between kissing each other and each other's breasts, occasionally taking a little side-track and lavishing their throats or clavicles with some attention as well.

It seemed like an eternity before Anna felt Elsa's thumb brushing up against her clit – although, in reality, it was probably only a few minutes. Again, she made sure to mimic the blonde's action, for which she was rewarded with a long, deep moan, and a hoarse whispering of her name.

It was funny, Anna would later think. She had always thought that the whole 'simultaneous orgasm myth' was just that: a myth. Maybe it was because of the synchronized way their hands moved, or because of the slow build-up of their passion, or the hoarse whispering of each other's names. Whatever the reason was, they both reached their climax at the exact same moment, finding themselves calling out their partner's name, though only vaguely registering their own name being called.

It wasn't until half an hour later that they finally extracted themselves from each other's arms, their breaths having returned to normal, and the afterglow of their orgasms having faded away. It was still too soon for Anna, she realized with a reserved smile to herself. She could have laid there, snuggled up in Elsa's arms, for the remainder of the night. She'd have considered herself very lucky indeed.

As things were, however, she found herself getting dressed again, using her phone to message the escort service that she'd done her job and was about to leave. Sending the e-mail, Anna almost felt… guilty. Which was ridiculous, because that was all this had been: business.

"Would you like to stay and have something to drink?" the blonde asked from behind her, also fully dressed again. Anna considered her response for a moment, a dozen different reasons to decline passing through her mind. However, when she saw Elsa growing insecure again, her hand moving back to her braid, she forgot all her reasons and went with what her heart told her.

"I'd really like that, yes," she admitted with a shy smile.

Elsa led her to an old-fashioned sitting room, a small fire already burning in the fireplace, with a large, definitely modern, window taking up almost all of the western wall. She gawked at the view of the city's skyline for a moment. She hadn't realized the house was on a hill when she'd driven here, but it had to be so for this view to be possible.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the blonde mused from across the room.

"Yeah… it really is."

Elsa excused herself to go and fetch them something to drink from the kitchen, leaving Anna to scan the room. As with the rest of the house, it was this odd combination of old and new that she found remarkably fascinating. As she walked past a small corner desk, she noticed what appeared to be blueprints.

Despite the fact that she knew that it wasn't her place to look at them, and that she was stepping out of line, and that this could totally get her in trouble, Anna pored over the blueprints, which seemed to outline a design for a courthouse. At first, she felt impressed by the artistry and craftsmanship that must have gone into it, but as she continued to look, her brows knitted together in a distinct frown.

She heard Elsa re-entering the room and fully expected to be scolded, but there was only the soft humming of a tune as the blonde set the glasses down on a small table near the fireplace. Deciding to push her luck, Anna took a deep breath.

"Did you draw these?" she asked, her voice catching slightly.

"Hm? Oh, no, one of my co-workers did. I need to approve them."

Anna smiled sheepishly. "The western wing isn't structurally sound."

Elsa made a small sound of surprise, before walking over and joining Anna near the desk, leaning over her shoulder to look at the blueprints as Anna pointed out the problem. "See? This overhang is supposed to be supported by these pillars here, and here. But the architect doesn't seem to have taken this part here into account, as well as the added weight of furniture and people. It would probably…"

"Collapse," Elsa finished the sentence, quickly drawing a circle around the area Anna pointed out with a red pencil. "You're an escort and an architect?" she asked half-amused as they made their way to the chairs.

"Studying to be, actually," Anna shrugged. "Which is why I do what I do, I suppose."

"I see…" there was an awkward silence between them for a while, both of them concentrating on their drinks. It seemed as if Elsa wanted to ask something, but after every deep breath she took, she closed her mouth again.

"What is it?" Anna chuckled eventually.

"I was just… wondering."

"About what?"

"It's just… Is it always like this?"

"Is what always like what?" Anna asked, not understanding the question.

"Your work," Elsa clarified. "What we just did… what we _shared_ … It didn't feel fake or artificial. Not to me, at least. So… is it always like this?"

Anna bit her lower lip, leaning back a little. "I wouldn't know, actually. You're… kinda my first."

"First client?"

"Yeah. I only applied for a job earlier today, and they called me because they apparently didn't have anyone else to send here…"

"Well, I'm glad they sent you…" Elsa mused to herself, looking only a little shocked when she realized she'd said it out loud.

"Me too," Anna chuckled in reply, taking a sip of her drink. "I doubt it will always be like this… I mean, you're freaking gorgeous and sexy and _hot_." She bit her lip again as she frowned. "Tomorrow it might be some disgusting, overweight guy heaving on top of me," she muttered darkly, eyes focused on the city's skyline.

"You don't sound particularly happy about your… er… choice of profession," Elsa offered reluctantly.

Anna chuckled grimly. "Can you blame me? I mean, sure, I'm cute, but imagine doing what we just did with someone three times my size."

"Stop me if I'm getting too personal, but… why do you do it, then?"

"Not by choice," Anna replied with a shrug, setting her empty glass down. "I need the money for college. I need college to get a job. I need a job to sustain a life. No one else wanted to hire me, so yeah… here I am."

"I understand…" Elsa muttered softly. She reached down into the purse next to her chair, pulling out a small roll of bills, of which she placed several on the table.

"What's that?"

"Money," Elsa replied dryly.

"What for?"

"You, of course."

"No, no," Anna objected. "You don't pay me directly. You pay the service, and they pay me."

"I know. But it is my understanding that it is the norm to pay a tip whenever you're content about… er… delivered services."

"Elsa, this is what? Five hundred dollar? That's not a tip, that's a monthly salary."

Elsa smiled alluringly. "Let's just say that I am… very content with the offered services."

Their conversation continued a little while longer, Anna continuously debating whether or not she should take the money. On the one hand, she could definitely use it. On the other hand, she didn't want to ruin this experience by accepting Elsa's money. It felt like something special, and accepting this payment for it wouldn't really make her feel good. Getting paid via the escort service was one thing, but accepting Elsa's money directly made her feel queasy.

As Elsa got up from her chair and walked Anna to the door, the redhead took the money from the table, walked after the blonde, and slyly left it on a side table in the hall, within view for the blonde when she would walk back inside.

Their goodbyes took place by Anna's car, and despite the fluidity of the night, felt somewhat stilted and awkward. Anna wasn't quite clear on whether she was saying goodbye to a friend, a lover, or just a customer. It seemed as if Elsa was having a similar dilemma, eventually planting a quick kiss on her cheek and waving an awkward goodbye.

* * *

Anna was bored out of her mind, and seriously wondering why she had even bothered to come to college today. Her attention kept drifting back to last night, making it wholly impossible for her to absorb any of the information her professors kept throwing at the class.

But she'd already held out most of the day, and it would be silly to skip only the last lecture. Besides, it was a guest lecture by an _actual_ architect, so perhaps it would be more interesting than geometrics and architectural history.

Stepping into the lecture hall made it very evident that Anna was slightly on the late side, the only few seats available being in the front. She dreaded sitting on the first row, so she took a seat at the end of the second row. As soon as she sat down, one of her instructors turned on his microphone.

"Welcome, everyone, to this year's guest lecture. As you all know, Mr. Bjorgmann of Arendelle Corp was supposed to be here today, walking us through one of his high-end and high-profile designs – namely the new courthouse. Unfortunately, circumstances prevent him from being here today-"

A collective groan resounded throughout the lecture hall, all students anticipating a boring substitute lecture from their own instructors. The wispy man tapped his finger against the microphone to silence them. "However," he continued with a lot of emphasis. "The CEO of Arendelle Corp herself has decided to take his place and run us through the design instead. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Miss Elsa Arendelle."

There was enthusiastic applause all around. Not that strange, considering that Arendelle Corp was considered to be the best architecture firm on the east coast, and this woman actually stood at its head. Anna didn't clap, though. She was too stunned as she saw Elsa walk onto the podium. _Her_ Elsa, but without last night's awkwardness and insecurities.

"Thank you," she started with a brilliant smile. "As most of you are probably aware, the city council has commissioned a new courthouse to replace the archaic structure currently in use, which no longer conforms to modern safety regulations. The designs I'll be showing here today are, of course, not yet finalized. I feel the need to stress that these are not designs made by me personally – I only received them yesterday, and had very little time to go over them."

She tapped a button, bringing the blueprints Anna had seen last night onto the screen behind her. There was some awed whispering going around the hall as Elsa started explaining the neoclassical features of the building, as well as the demands the city had placed on the new courthouse, and how they were incorporated into the blueprint. After nearly ten minutes, she fell silent for a moment.

"Now, these are outdated blueprints, because Mr. Bjorgmann made a crucial mistake in his design. Can anyone point out the problem with this courthouse, as it is now?"

Everyone peered at the blueprints on the screen, discussing them with their neighbors and making notes and sketches. Anna took a deep breath before raising her hand, catching Elsa's attention.

The signs of recognition were hard to spot, but they were definitely there. The slight widening of her eyes, the subtle change in her posture, the hand moving towards her braid, and the blush – barely visible from this distance – covering her cheeks. The blonde recovered quickly, though. "Yes, the redhead on the second row?"

"Um," Anna started, suddenly feeling all eyes on her. "The western wing isn't structurally sound?"

Elsa tapped another button, zooming in on the western wing. "Care to elaborate?"

"The overhang of the western wing is extended too far for the support columns to sustain it, especially when considering the weight that would be added when the courthouse is actually taken in use."

"Very good," Elsa beamed, looking genuinely pleased. "This same problem was pointed out to me by a friend only last night, after which I spent a good deal of the night re-working this part." Another tap on the button revealed the same blueprint, but with an entirely different west wing. The neoclassical aspects Elsa had previously pointed out were still there, yet the new part was decidedly different.

One of the students in the back immediately remarked on it, causing Elsa to nod slowly. "You're correct. Can anyone tell me from what period I took my inspiration?"

Everyone in the room started leafing through their textbooks hurriedly, hoping to provide the answer to what should be – and according to Anna _was_ – a really simple queston.

"The Late Baroque period," Anna heard herself calling, loud enough to be heard over the noise of the other students.

Again, Elsa beamed at her, looking decidedly less professional and more affectionate, Anna thought. Or maybe her judgment on the issue was just colored by past experiences. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Exactly. Many architects believe that, when designing a building, one should only take inspiration from a single movement or period. I, however, believe that taking inspiration from several periods, within reason of course, can and _will_ result in more original and unique designs. And in a business where there are more rivals than you could possible name, or even count, being original is what sets you apart from the rest. If you don't do anything special, you won't get any large projects."

The lecture went on for half an hour more, Elsa running them through pictures and designs of buildings that were comprised of several different architectural influences, and comparing them to the more boring buildings that stuck to a single movement.

As the lecture ended, Anna had the overwhelming desire to talk to Elsa. That was made impossibly, though, by the throngs of students that slowly carried her with them in the opposite direction, as well as Elsa's hasty departure through the staff entrance.

On her way outside, she wondered what Elsa and she were of each other. Elsa had called her a 'friend' when referring to her, but that might only have been because it'd be really, really awkward to tell everyone that an escort had pointed it out. Yet the way they had behaved yesterday really seemed to imply that it had been more than just business. That, or Anna was just really gullible and not cut out for this line of work.

Walking across the square in front of the lecture building, Anna was still deep in thought. She only looked up when the usual buzz of students silenced and made place for hushed whispers. Looking up to see what was going on, she suddenly found herself face to face with the object of her thoughts.

"Anna, walk with me, please?" Elsa asked softly. Anna could only nod in reply, forming an embarrassed little grin when, after a few steps, Elsa twined their arms together. The grin only grew when Elsa walked them off-campus. "I thought I might treat you to a late lunch with the money you _accidentally_ misplaced last night."

"Lunch sounds… nice," Anna muttered uncertainly, not sure what Elsa was playing at.

Only when they were far away from prying eyes and ears did Elsa take a deep breath. "Anna, I have a… proposition," she said carefully as they sat down on the terrace of a small diner. "I wanted to offer you a fully paid internship at Arendelle Corp."

"What?"

"I discussed it with your instructors, and they agreed that it would be mutually beneficial if Arendelle Corp would welcome some interns – only the best, of course – in our ranks."

Anna's hopeful smile fell a little when she realized she would not be the only one. Before she could say anything, Elsa already continued. "All interns will be working with a team of architects on an individual project. I was thinking, though, that you might work with me… Which would mainly be supervising, meeting clients and approving designs. So… what do you think?"

Anna took a deep breath, considering her response carefully. "Elsa… I'd really _love_ to accept this, and I know a dozen of students who would kill for an opportunity like this but… I have to know that this isn't just because of last night."

Elsa blushed, ducking her head a little. "It's not, Anna. Within minutes, you pointed out a subtle yet disastrous flaw in a very complicated design. It goes to show that you have a skillset that Arendelle Corp can definitely use."

"Well, if that's the case, I'll gladly accept the position," Anna smiled widely, embracing Elsa in an awkward side-hug.

"There is… one more thing," Elsa murmured, shying away from Anna's hug and looking rather uncomfortable. "I know it's really not my place to ask-"

"Elsa," Anna interrupted. "Just tell me what it is."

"I want you to, um, give up your job at the escort service if you accept this internship. I'll make sure it will pay well enough for you to be able to sustain yourself, of course, and if you-"

"Elsa," Anna interrupted again, smiling at the blonde's distress. "I can do that. Just… I'd like to know why?"

Elsa took a deep breath. "Well, it would be bad for Arendelle Corp's image if people where to find out that you… well, you know. Imagine a prospective client having been a customer… that'd make business really awkward and uncomfortable."

Anna nodded, that made perfect sense, really.

"Also," Elsa continued slowly, her blush growing more ferocious. "I.. I really don't like sharing."

This time, Anna was also blushing. "I'm not sure I understand?"

"I mean that… er… I'd like to have you to myself," Elsa admitted. "If you're… amenable to that, that is."

Anna smiled happily as she embraced Elsa in a full hug, without the blonde shying away this time. "I'm _very_ amenable to that idea," she murmured against Elsa's shoulder.

"I'll make the call as soon as I get home."

* * *

 **Okay, so now that I've written this, I realize that, maybe, just maybe, this might get a continuation. Maybe.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright then. To say that a continuation on this supposed-to-be one-shot was in high demand would be a gross understatement. So here is a continuation. I'm working closely with the person who requested the story in the first place, and as things are now, we have about four or five future chapters planned. That being said, working with someone like this takes up a lot of time, so don't expect me to update every few days. That's simply not realistic (even for a normal story, I'd think). A few things you should know: this story isn't going to have plot. This story isn't going to contain angst or drama. This story will feature some serious time-skips, but they'll always be pointed out and explained. This chapter has a lot of business-y stuff in it, and might be terribly boring for you to read.**

 **Now then, I hope y'all enjoy. If you do, a review would be much appreciated, if it's not too much trouble. It's like an early Christmas present! :3**

* * *

It was funny, Anna thought, how she had brushed off the internship at Arendelle Corp as 'being no big deal' in her head. All over the weekend, she had been telling herself that it wasn't that strange. She was a good student, and it made sense for her to get this internship. Four of her classmates had gotten the same offer – although she was the only one working with _the_ Elsa Arendelle, of course.

Though she doubted her friends were aware of that little detail.

And now it was Monday morning – she was an escort no longer – and she found herself looking up at the massive building in front of her. It looked like some kind of futuristic skyscraper, the glass and metal twisting from left to right, reflecting the rays of the early sun and giving the building an otherworldly glow.

Anna had stood in this place a few times before, staring up at the building. It was one of a kind, she figured. She knew that it had been designed by Elsa's father, the former CEO of Arendelle Corp, although he had passed away before the construction of it had been finished.

"Alright, enough gawking!" Hans erupted behind her. "We're the best of the best in our class. Let's get in there and dazzle them!"

Merida added her own battle-cry to Hans' mini-speech, while Rapunzel and Eugene just nodded resolutely, all of them moving towards the entrance at the same time. As they stepped into the atrium, Anna realized that yes, this _was_ a big deal.

They were Arendelle Corp's _first_ interns.

"What can I do for you?" the blonde at the front desk asked them, twiddling a pencil between her fingers as she raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

"We're the new interns," Eugene smiled. "We were supposed to check in here?"

The woman nodded, fingers rapidly tapping away on her keyboard. "Of course. I was instructed to send you to the auditorium first. Miss Arendelle will be starting the week off with a little talk – it's tradition here. When she's done, just stay in your seats, and the internship coordinator will find you. The auditorium is through those doors."

The auditorium was positively gigantic – like everything in this building, really – and already half-filled with employees. The five interns claimed seats in the back row as their own, drawing as little attention to themselves as possible. For the next ten minutes, they waited in silence, watching as more and more people poured into the room, chatting amiably or studying papers or tablets as they made their way to one of the empty seats.

Once the room was full, and the clock officially struck 8:30 – Elsa walked onto the heightened platform at the front, immediately causing the entire room to fall silent. Anna watched in amazement how one woman – an exceptional woman, but still just one woman – could silence such a crowd with merely her presence. It was evident that all of her employees held great respect for Elsa.

"Good morning, everyone," Elsa started, smiling at the room. "I don't have a lot to say at the start of this week – we have several large projects running at the moment, but we've already formed teams and assigned the work last week, so most of you will just be continuing work they have already started. Be sure to stick to your deadlines, as always. Also, before I forget, four of the teams will be joined by an intern from Arendelle University – we've accepted the brightest students only, so they should be an asset. Take them seriously and listen to what they have to say."

And just like that, the little impromptu speech ended, and everyone started gathering their belongings as they filed out of the room. Anna and her friends remained seated, though, as they had been instructed.

It wasn't long before they were joined by a lanky young man, his black hair tousled on his head, and his eyes shining brightly behind is thick-rimmed glasses. "You five must be the interns! My name is Olaf, and I'll be your coordinator for the duration of your internship. Now, are you all ready to enter the real world?"

They all nodded enthusiastically, causing Olaf to smile at them as he pulled a small slip of paper from his pocket. "Alright, then. Which of you is Rapunzel?"

The petite brunette shyly waved in response.

"Very well, you'll be going to the fifth floor. You've been assigned to the team that is re-working the courthouse designs – Ms. Arendelle said something about you already having seen them during a guest lecture?"

Rapunzel nodded excitedly, happy to be joining a high-profile project.

"Alright, Hans and Merida? You two will be joining the Oaken project. You'll be helping with the designing of buildings for Oaken's Resort, just out of town. There are five large buildings and a dozen or so smaller ones, so there is plenty of work for you to be doing. You'll need to go to the second floor."

Merida and Hans high-fived each other, looking eager to get started.

"That must mean you are Eugene?" Olaf continued. "You'll be on the sixth floor, working on the new hospital designs. The team there should already be expecting you."

Olaf folded the piece of paper again, causing several frowns from the interns.

"Hey, what about Anna?" Eugene asked worriedly.

"She'll be going to the twenty-first floor, where she will be working with Ms. Arendelle. But I was under the impression she already knew that."

Now, four pairs of eyes suddenly zoned in on her. Anna shrugged sheepishly. "It may have been mentioned to me, yeah," she offered weakly. To her surprise, however, none of her friends seemed jealous, and they all expressed how happy they were for her in a series of tight hugs.

"Now, now. Since we've got all that over with," Olaf interjected, "maybe you should all go and do what you're getting paid for? Shoo, shoo, get to your workstations!"

Everyone scrambled towards the elevator – Hans backtracking for a moment to ask which floor he was supposed to go to again – and frantically smashed the buttons of the elevator to get to their destined floors. Anna was surprised to feel Olaf holding her back and taking her to the second elevator.

"I work on the twenty-first as well," he offered as explanation, patiently waiting for the doors to slide closed. Once they were, he turned to her again. "Elsa told me about the… circumstances of your first meeting," he said, pink hues coming up to colour his cheeks. "She's asked me to remind you to act professionally. And she said something about a phone call you should have made, but I confess to not having been paying attention to that bit, so I'm not sure what it was about."

Anna smiled shyly. "I think I do."

"Good, good, that should settle itself, then."

It took the elevator half a century to reach the final floor, and all the while, Anna was getting more and more hyped to meet Elsa again. They hadn't talked to each other since their 'late lunch' after Elsa's guest lecture.

Once the doors opened, Olaf shepherded Anna past an open door of what looked like a _massive_ meeting room, and towards a spacious office that was _just there_. Olaf sat down behind the desk, motioning around. "This is my office. I'm Elsa's personal assistant. Her office is through there," he smiled, pointing at the door in the far end. "She's expecting you."

Anna wavered only a brief moment before she knocked on the door, growing even more giddy when Elsa's voice called she could come in. Elsa's office was the largest Anna had ever seen – taking up half the top floor of the building, she surmised from the view the large windows offered.

"Anna," Elsa said pleasantly, getting up from behind her desk and moving some papers to the side. "It's… very good to see you."

Anna couldn't help but return the sentiment with a shy little grin. Elsa stepped towards her, ducking her head and appearing as if she was to give Anna a kiss, but pulling back at the last moment. Anna stomped down the feeling of hurt that must have been visible on her face as well – she knew they would have to be professional here.

Elsa was fidgeting, but didn't step back. "Sorry for bringing this up straight away, but er… did you, you know? Make the call?"

Anna grinned brightly. "Yeah, I did. I'm not working as an escort anymore, don't worry."

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief, ducking her head down again and placing a firm kiss against Anna's lips, who was completely taken by surprise. As soon as the blonde stepped out her personal space, Anna felt clarity returning to her brain again.

"I thought we had to be professional about this, _Ms. Arendelle_?"

Elsa chuckled airily. "True. Consider this a… kiss of relief. Besides, as long as we're in this office, I don't really mind what we do. Within reason, of course."

"So I can call you Elsa, then?"

"Yes, Anna. You can call me Elsa."

"Can I kiss you again?"

Elsa grinned mischievously. "You can, yes. But after that, we should really discuss your internship and get to work. We have a busy day."

Anna gently pulled the blonde back to her by her wrist, wrapping her arms around her lower back as she canted her head upwards, waiting for Elsa to tilt her head downwards and meet her lips. She did not have to wait long, and felt Elsa sighing happily in her embrace.

Once their lips dislodged from each other, Elsa stepped backwards again, moving back behind her desk and motioning Anna to the chair in front of it. "As you probably realized, you have a unique position within this business as an intern."

Anna nodded, urging Elsa to continue.

"You'll be accompanying me to meetings, inspections, pretty much everything I do, really. Hopefully you'll learn a lot about the business like that."

"I'm sure I will."

"Today, we'll have a meeting with some gentlemen from the city council regarding a possible new building for the town hall and police station – apparently all municipal buildings in our fair city are in desperate need of renewing. After that, we're probably going to have lunch, after which we'll be doing our rounds, visiting some of the work-groups dotted across this building to see how they're faring."

Anna nodded, signalling that she understood. Elsa motioned to a smaller desk at the side of her office. "That's your workplace for the next few weeks. I left some blueprints from smaller projects on your desk. Could you go over those and see what you think of them?"

"Sure thing, boss-lady," Anna smiled happily.

"And don't ever call me boss-lady again," Elsa added wryly. "Or you'll be fired."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Anna grinned mischievously.

Elsa merely rolled her eyes, but Anna would swear she saw the beginnings of an affectionate grin.

* * *

An hour and a half went by, and while it did, Anna grew more and more certain she had found her dream job. That dream job being Elsa's intern. Or assistant. Or… something. Combining architecture with Elsa was definitely something that kept her world turning right now.

She focused mostly on the blueprints in front of her, which all seemed to be _okay_ but none of which actually called out to her. Frankly, they were just… boring. There wasn't really anything special about them, and if Anna were in the position of contracting Arendelle Corp to design a building for her, she would have been expecting more.

Every few minutes, however, she allowed her gaze to wander to Elsa, who was sitting at her own desk, poring over stacks of documents, occasionally scribbling something down. She was fairly certain Elsa had caught her staring a few times, but the blonde never said anything. She just shook her head with a little smile around her perfect lips.

Anna practically jumped when Olaf opened the door to the office. "Elsa, those suits for the meeting are down in the lobby. Chloe is leading them up here as we speak."

Elsa nodded, placing her files down. "Is the meeting room in order?"

Olaf nodded as well. "Coffee and tea are ready, as are the cookies. Meeting schedules are placed near the seats, and I've set up my laptop to take notes."

Elsa smiled at him. "Did you arrange a seat for Anna as well?"

Olaf looked distraught for a moment. "I did not. I didn't think she'd be joining the meeting…"

"If she doesn't join the meeting, how is she supposed to learn anything?" Elsa smiled, quirking her eyebrow at Olaf. The lanky man nodded with a sheepish smile. "Right. Well, that's rectified easily enough. I'm going to go and pull up an extra chair."

"Thank you, Olaf. We'll be out in a few minutes."

Elsa got up from behind her desk, walked over to Anna's and gently perched herself on the corner. "So, Anna… Did you get any work done in between your sessions of staring at me?"

Anna blushed ferociously, but nodded quickly. "I went over all the blueprints you left me."

"And?"

"Almost all of them are fine," Anna shrugged, pulling one of the sketches out of the pile. "I doubt this one would still be standing after a storm, though. Its centre of gravity seems off."

Elsa looked at it for a moment, paying special attention to the little notes Anna had placed in the margins, before nodding and scribbling something on it herself. "And the others?"

Anna wavered for a moment. "Like I said, they're… fine."

"You don't sound as if they're fine, Anna," Elsa said, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Anna took a deep breath. "I suppose they're just a little under-whelming. Like, if I came to you for a design for a building, I'd expect more from Arendelle Corp than this. There's nothing original or catchy or breath-taking about it."

Elsa frowned down at her for a moment, biting her lower lip before nodding. "Alright, hold on to those thoughts," she said eventually, motioning for Anna to follow her out of the office. As they walked into the meeting room, Anna noticed the elevator opening and a vibrant ginger leading three middle-aged men in stiff suits down the hallway.

"This way, gentlemen. Ms. Arendelle is awaiting," she heard the ginger say as she beckoned the men into the room.

Elsa nodded stiffly. "Thank you, Chloe. You can wait in Olaf's office and escort them back down when we're done. Feel free to take some coffee or tea."

"Thank you, Ms. Arendelle," the ginger smiled, gently closing the door to the meeting room behind her as Elsa shook hands with the men. "Welcome to Arendelle Corp. You've met Olaf during our last meeting. This is my intern, Anna."

As they all took their seats, Olaf made sure everyone got something to eat and drink. There was some general chit-chat and exchanging of pleasantries, before Elsa got down to business. Before Anna was even aware of it, they were engrossed in discussions about budgets and artistic liberties.

It didn't take long to establish that they _most assuredly_ wanted Arendelle Corp to design the new town hall and police station. This meeting seemed to be more of a formality to settle on payment and guidelines for the new buildings.

"As much as we love your designs, Ms. Arendelle, we really think it best if the new police station isn't too… artsy."

Elsa nodded for a moment, canting her head sideways. "I do hope that doesn't mean you'd like us to design something dull and dreary. Arendelle Corp prides itself on being unique."

"We're aware of that, and we don't mind the police station being unique. We just want it to suit its function – it should show off its… strength, sternness. It shouldn't be some hippy happy-go-lucky playground."

Elsa nodded, smiling sweetly, yet at the same time being somewhat intimidating. "Have we ever let you down with any of our designs, gentlemen?"

"Well, no, you haven't. But-"

"Then I'd like to ask you to trust us. I'm certain we'll come up with something that works for you. And if you don't like our initial suggestions, we can always sit down and discuss your preferences further."

"Of course, of course," one of the men nodded sagely. "We actually brought some images that could serve as inspiration."

One of the men took a stack of print-outs from his bag, sliding them across the table towards Elsa. The blonde spread the images across the table, carefully examining them. Anna found her attention glued to the images as well, finding the majority of the images to be rather dull and simple. She did notice a few buildings that contained aspects that might be combined into something special, though, without it being too overbearing.

Elsa hummed quietly to herself, before turning her head towards Anna. "Well, Anna, what do _you_ think?"

Anna opened her mouth in semi-shock. She knew this meeting was important to Arendelle Corp, and she hadn't expected Elsa to ask her for her input. She had some ideas, sure, but where they good enough to suggest them here? In a meeting with possible clients? What if she messed up?

She took a deep breath, reaching out for some of the images. "I think these three go really well together. You could take elements from each of them – the façade of this one, for example, and the windows from this one – and combine them into one building that would both be unique, but also efficient and official."

Elsa reached for one of the other pictures. "What about this one?"

Anna scrunched up her face for a moment. "I think that if you add that one too, it might become a bit… much?" she said, her uncertainty making it sound like a question.

Elsa tilted her head sideways for a moment. "Yes, yes. You're probably right."

They repeated the process a few more times, adding and removing images from the little collection until they were content. "Thank you, gentlemen. We'll be able to work some designs out with these images," Elsa smiled, handing the remaining images back to the man who had taken them from his bag. "We should have something for you soon. I'll make sure you're kept in the loop. Would there be anything else?"

The men shook their heads, already gathering their belongings and finishing their drinks.

"Very well." Elsa got up from her chair, opening the door to the meeting room. "Chloe will see you out," she smiled pleasantly as she shook their hands. Anna also got up, shaking their hands as well before she tailed after Elsa.

Once in the office, Elsa placed the documents from the meeting on her desk and made her way to a few filing cabinets lined up against the far wall, taking several heavy folders from them. "You did really well during the meeting," she said as she was heaving the folders to the centre of her office and dumped them down on the floor.

"Thanks," Anna smiled, her face growing confused as Elsa lowered herself onto the floor as well. "But er… what are you doing?"

Elsa motioned for Anna to join her on the floor, opening the folders and revealing more folders inside them. "These are portfolios from our architects," she explained. "You are going to help me compile a team for these two projects. We'll be basing our choices on their previous projects. Try to find architects who are familiar with the style and demands of these projects. Logically, we'll need two teams. One for the town hall, and one for the new police station."

Anna nodded, brows furrowing in concentration as she opened the first of the folders and started sifting through blueprints and photographs of buildings. Whenever she found a portfolio that contained buildings even remotely similar, she would write the architect's name on a list.

Olaf walked in on them as they were seated on the floor, surrounded by a veritable fort of portfolios and folders. He did not even appear to be surprised by the odd scene before him, merely asking if they wanted him to get lunch for them.

"Yes please," Elsa muttered without looking up from the file she was reading. "I'll have my usual."

Anna quirked an eyebrow at Olaf, who got the message and handed her the menu from a little shop down the street, Elsa's usual being marked with a large, red cross. "I'll have the same, thank you," she smiled, reaching for her purse to hand him some money.

"No, no, lunch is on me," Elsa muttered without even looking up.

They continued for a few more minutes, Olaf having left them to their own devices again, before Anna spoke up. "I went through all of these and made my list," she said, stretching slightly.

Elsa looked up, eyes widening at a sliver of skin showing as Anna's shirt rode up slightly. "G-good. You can, er, use my laptop to see if they're not occupied with er… other projects. Yet."

Lunch arrived shortly after Elsa had finished her part of the list as well, and Elsa and Anna sat down at Elsa's desk to enjoy a little down-time. Anna marveled at how easy and natural this whole 'working with Elsa' thing felt. It was like she'd never known anything different.

They ate mostly in silence, which was only broken after Elsa had swallowed the last bite of her food. "So, what do you think so far?" she asked, nerves hidden behind her professional façade.

"This is place is really awesome," Anna grinned back at her. "I think I want to intern here forever."

Elsa raised her eyebrows slightly. "I fear that won't work out too well," she smiled, causing Anna's face to scrunch up in mock-disappointment. "We might just be able to offer you a job, though," Elsa continued casually, as if it were a careless afterthought.

Anna smiled at her. "That's very nice of you to say, Elsa, but I'll be in college for a few more years."

Elsa nodded. "True. But you're already better at all this than many of my employees. You know, the ones that already _graduated_. I'm sure we could work something out."

Anna's eyes lit up with hope. "Really? Like, I can work here without certificates and stuff?"

Elsa nodded slowly. "Sure. You wouldn't get any projects of your own until you are a certified architect, of course. But you could do the things you've been doing with me today, for instance. Olaf is a great personal assistant, but he doesn't know the first things about architecture. It would be good to have someone like you working with me as well."

Anna's entire face was now alight with amazement. "That's awesome! I love working with you!"

Elsa smiled a sheepish little smile. "I'm glad to hear that… Also, I was wondering… Maybe you'd like to have dinner at my place? Tonight, I mean?"

Anna shot the blonde a smug little grin. "Are you asking me on a date, Ms. Arendelle?"

Elsa huffed, rolling her eyes. "Not with that attitude, I'm not."

Anna immediately reigned her attitude back in. "Seriously, though. I'd love to have dinner tonight. With you. At your place."

Elsa's face lit up like that of a child in a candy store, and she was about to reply when Olaf walked into the office. "Are you two finished? Can I clear the table?"

Elsa nodded curtly. "Yes, Olaf, thank you. Oh, and could you gather these people in a meeting room an hour from now?" she asked, handing him the list she and Anna had made.

"Will do, Elsa."

"Anna, gather up those blueprints you went over this morning, please?" Elsa asked, grabbing some files from her own desk as well. "We're going to meet the architects responsible for them and give them our opinions on their work."

Anna did as she was asked, hurriedly following Elsa into the elevator. The blonde, arms filled with folders, pressed the button for the fourteenth floor, quietly humming a tune to herself as the elevator made its way down. Occasionally, it would stop to let more people in, all of whom nodded or greeted their employer.

When they finally arrived on their destination floor, Elsa navigated them through a maze of cubicles to a little office in the back, where a group of architects already sat waiting for them. Without any introduction, Elsa dumped the folders on one of the tables, Anna hurriedly adding her blueprints to the collection as well.

"Gentleman," Elsa smiled, sorting the files out on the surface. "This is my intern Anna. She's been helping me assessing your blueprints."

There were some muttered greetings, but overall, the architects appeared rather apprehensive about the ordeal. Elsa went over a few of the more advanced blueprints first, explaining adjustments that would need to be made, and ensuring that the architect in charge of that particular design took notes. When she was done, she singled out the blueprint Anna had marked as being a little off, motioning for Anna to take over.

"Who made this one?" the blonde asked, turning her attention to the young man that raised his hand. "Alright then. Anna, the floor is all yours."

"Oh, er… Right, right. I looked at it this morning, and I really like the idea of the design. The combination of modern and old-fashioned is really well done."

"Thank you," the architect interjected smugly.

"…But the building would probably collapse if the winds picked up," Anna finished, cringing slightly as she felt like she was attacking the man personally.

"Of course not, look at it!" the architect objected, pointing at the blueprints wildly. "It's _perfect_!"

The other architects also bent over the blueprint, mentally doing the necessary calculations. "She's right, though, Hank," one of the older man said. "Look, your point of gravity is way too far to the right. I don't see how we've missed this before!"

The architect – Hank – now also took a good look at the drawing, and Anna could literally pinpoint the moment he noticed they were right. He immediately took out a pencil and made some notes in his notepad, nodding frantically. "Right, right, right. Alright, I've got that. I'll rework the design for next week."

Elsa nodded, looking at Anna with pride clearly evident in her eyes. "Very well. Your next deadline is set for Thursday next week, so that should leave you enough time. Now, Anna, anything you would like to say about the remaining designs?" Elsa asked.

"They're… fine," Anna offered hesitantly.

"But?" Elsa spurred her on.

"They're all a little… bland? Like, there's nothing really special going on in them. They might as well have been designed by Weselton Inc."

Elsa nodded curtly. "She's right, gentlemen. Here at Arendelle Corp, we pride ourselves on unique and eye-catching designs. While these sketches are structurally sound and functional, they don't quite adhere to the standards we hold in this company. I'm afraid you'll have to re-do them. You can take inspiration from the archives in the basement, if you need to."

All the architects nodded, gathering their belongings and writing their instructions down. "We'll see each other again in two weeks. Make sure to hand in your new designs by Thursday, please," Elsa said as she gathered her own stuff up and beckoned Anna to follow her again.

"So, what's up next on our busy schedule, Your Majesty?" Anna asked as they stepped back into the elevator.

Elsa smiled at her, shaking her head with a suppressed chuckle. "We're going to check up on some of our more high-profile projects to see how they're progressing, and to see if there are problems we can help out with. By the time we're done for that, I think we can call it a day."

Anna nodded excitedly, almost hopping up and down.

"Easy there," Elsa laughed. "What's got you all fired up?"

"I'm just really eager to see the designs!" Anna chirped. "There's so much I can learn. Like, all my friends just joined one project, but I get to learn from all of them, _and_ I get to learn from you and your organizational skills and joining meetings and all that. It's so awesome!"

Elsa smiled affectionately as the elevator bleeped. "I'd really like to kiss you now," she said, almost sadly.

"Well, there will be plenty of time for that after work, I imagine," Anna replied cheekily, adding a wink for good measure.

They exited the elevator – Anna wasn't quite certain at which floor – and Elsa immediately strode through the hallway to one of the larger rooms to the side, holding the door open for Anna. As soon as the redhead walked in, she noticed Hans and Merida, energetically discussing something with one of the elderly architects.

"Ah, Ms. Arendelle, I assume you are here for our progress report?"

"Indeed, Eric. Let's see what you've got."

The older man beckoned them over to a map with somewhere around twenty buildings depicted on it, the letters in the corner indicating this was to be Oaken's All-Year-Round Resort. Which was a ridiculous name, Anna thought, but whatever.

"Mr. Oaken mailed us these maps, as well as a list of requirements for some of the buildings. The ones we've coloured green are done, the ones in blue have been designed, but not approved, and the ones in red are un-started projects. The splotchy purplish ones are buildings for which we have ideas, but we still need to discuss those."

"There's nothing green on there," Anna remarked cautiously, immediately drawing attention to her.

"Very perceptive," Eric smiled. "We haven't actually gotten anything approved yet. We've been discussing the central theme for most of the morning, actually," he shrugged. "Oddly enough, it was the new intern that came up with the best idea."

Elsa arched an eyebrow, and Eric pushed Hans forward. "Go and tell the boss what you proposed, boy," Eric ordered good-naturedly.

Hans looked a little flustered, and seemed to shrink into himself when faced with Elsa's scrutiny. Nevertheless, he started speaking. "Mr. Oaken indicated that these buildings would be the actual housing for guests, and he plans to only use this half of the resort during winter, and that half during summer, so as to… I'm not sure why, actually. But that doesn't matter. What matters is this: I proposed making the housing season-related. Log cabins for the winter part of the resort, and more modern bungalows for the summer part. If we go with that plan, the other buildings would be done in the same style, depending on their location on the resort."

Elsa looked at the map for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she attempted to envision what Hans had just described. "What do you think, Anna?" she asked eventually.

Anna shrugged. "The idea sounds nice, but I'm wondering how the bungalows would be… er… summer-y?"

Eric guffawed for a moment. "That's an excellent question. Merida is working on some drawings, I think."

The Scottish woman took that as her sign to walk towards them, having been huddled over a desk in the far corner, and handed Elsa a few sketches. "I was thinking lots of light colours, pastels and whites and light blues and yellows. Lots of glass, too," she muttered.

Elsa looked the drawings over before handing them to Anna. The redhead was impressed by the drawings Merida had created, although she wasn't surprised. Her friend had always had a knack for making simple sketches of buildings that still looked ridiculously good.

Elsa had turned her attention back to the map. "What about the main building?"

Eric motioned at the interns to answer the question, and Hans spoke up first. "We were thinking that, if we split the resort up in summer and winter styles, it would be cool to combine those two in the main building," he offered.

"We got the inspiration from the guest lecture you gave last week," Merida added as an afterthought. "About combining different periods into a single building. But then with seasons, instead of periods."

"Alright, good. I like it," Elsa smiled. "Contact Mr. Oaken and fill him in on the idea. If he agrees, get the designs ready. You still have a few months before your final deadline, and with two extra pairs of hands, that should be plenty of time."

Eric laughed loudly. "If they keep working like this, we'll all be out of work soon," he smiled at Elsa, who also laughed.

"I think you're right. I'm certain this one already has her eyes on my job," she laughed, indicating Anna with her head.

In a whirlwind of activity, they said their goodbyes, and Anna found herself led to another room on another floor. "You're already familiar with the courthouse blueprints," Elsa filled her in, "but I have a team working on finalizing them and making the necessary adjustments. We're going to check up on them, now."

"Awesome. That's where Rapunzel should be!" Anna cheered.

And Rapunzel was indeed there, drawing on a huge piece of paper that had been taped to the wall, while the other architects sat around the table, looking on as the petite brunette tried to extend her reach by standing on the tips of her toes.

The entire scene was so typically Rapunzel that Anna could not help but laugh out loud.

"What… is going on?" Elsa asked hesitantly, looking at the scene in front of them.

One of the architects offered them a small smile. "Our fabulous intern is re-working the west wing of the proposed courthouse. Again."

Just then, one of the other architects spoke up – a woman not that much older than Anna herself, she thought. "Wait, Rapunzel, do you think you could maybe move those windows a little to the right? There's slightly off-centre, and that's going to peeve people out."

Just like that, Rapunzel made a tiny pirouette, grabbing an eraser in the process, and started adjusting the proposal. "Here?"

"Half an inch more, I'd say," one of the others offered.

"So here?"

"Yes. That'd be perfect."

"Alright then, consider it done," Rapunzel said in a sing-song fashion as she started redoing the windows.

Elsa and Anna watched on silently for a while. "I'm assuming everything is on schedule, if you're already working on the final draft?" Elsa asked eventually.

The man at the head of the table, probably the lead architect, nodded. "Yes, we should be done by the end of the week. By Wednesday if Little-Miss-Sunshine over there doesn't tire herself out with all that dancing she's doing."

Anna snickered. "I wouldn't worry about that."

Elsa nodded, and, with another glance at Rapunzel, turned to leave. Before the door fell closed behind them, they heard one of the architects commenting on something about the roof, and Rapunzel's happy chime of agreement.

The team working on the hospital – to which Eugene had been assigned – was next on their list of check-ups. Anna was not surprised to find a considerably larger team – almost an entire floor working together – for this project. At Elsa's inquiry about the state of their work, they were led to a wall where sketches, drafts and blueprints were pinned and taped to the wall.

"As you can see, the exterior is pretty much done, with the exception of the small areas at the back, which will be a restaurant, and a smoking area for patients who aren't allowed outside for medical reasons," the lead architect explained.

"So, what is everyone up to, then? You all seem terribly busy," Elsa commented dryly.

"Well, I have a team designing the interior of each of the wings, as well as the main entrance and lobby. I have a team designing the ambulance bay, and the large team over there is going over the calculations for power requirements. It'd be… unfortunate if the ICU did not have enough power to use their equipment."

They looked over to a large group of people, sitting around an island consisting of desks pushed together, all silently typing and writing. "The intern you got us is pretty invaluable there. He seems to be some kind of mathematic genius or something. His drawings are fine too, but his calculations are better – and faster – than most of the people here could manage."

"I'm glad he's working out well for you. I've heard much the same from all the other teams working with an intern. Apparently we have gotten ourselves some miracle workers."

"Yes," the architect replied warily. "Don't let _him_ hear you say that, though. I don't think he needs extra reasons to think well of himself."

Elsa smiled and finished up their business. Once they returned to the elevator, Anna happily asked where they were going next.

Elsa wavered for a short moment, before pressing the button for the top floor. "I think we've been productive enough for today. Let's go grab our stuff and go home."

* * *

Dinner at Elsa's place had been lovely. In fact, it had been the absolute best. Elsa turned out to be an amazing cook, and the pasta a-la-something she had made them had been delicious. Conversation between them had been easy and relaxed, and Anna had once again wondered about how easy it was to be around Elsa. None of the awkward 'you're an escort and I'm your client' interactions.

Although it was now getting late, and for some reason, awkward-Elsa seemed to be taking over again. Which was utterly adorable, Anna though, but also a little worrying. Because as cute as it was, Anna really just wanted Elsa to be comfortable around her.

"What's the matter, Elsa?"

"Oh, nothing," the blonde replied casually, waving her hand around as if the scare off a fly.

"Really?" Anna asked with a pointed look.

Elsa sighed. "I was just contemplating whether or not I should ask you to stay the night."

Anna opened her mouth to speak, but Elsa cut her off.

"Please let me finish? With the whole escort-business-thing-situation we did the whole relationship-thing a little backwards. You know, having… sex. Before anything else? So, I was thinking we should probably get to know each other a little better before we do that again. Don't get me wrong, though – I really want to do _that_ again. I just want it to be special."

Anna nodded, sensing Elsa was not done yet.

"I was just thinking… Like, you could stay. And, I have a guest room for you, if you'd like. Or… you could sleep in my room and we could… I don't know… er… cuddle, maybe?"

Anna tilted her head towards the ceiling, suppressing a little smile at awkward-Elsa's expense. "Would kissing be off the table too? Because I think I was promised kisses tonight."

Elsa blushed a crimson red, fidgeting with the tablecloth. "I don't think kissing is ever off the table…"

"Well, there's no one waiting for me in my apartment anyway, so I _suppose_ I might as well stay here," Anna drawled, smiling at the happy look in Elsa's eyes.

It wasn't long before Anna was led up the stairs again by Elsa. She instinctually moved to the bedroom, but was surprised to feel Elsa gently tugging her backwards, and in the other direction. "My bedroom is this way," she smiled shyly.

"Oh? But I thought…?"

"That was the guestroom," Elsa explained. "I wasn't really comfortable bringing an escort into my actual bedroom."

Anna smiled. "And you _are_ comfortable bringing your girlfriend into your bedroom?"

Elsa smiled back at her. "Oh, totally."

Elsa's bedroom was not that much different from the guestroom, really. It was just a little larger. The wardrobe was a little larger, and a little fuller. The furniture was a little more luxurious. And the bed was a lot softer, Anna found out.

Elsa procured an oversized shirt and some shorts for Anna to use as her sleepwear, directing her to the adjacent bathroom to get changed. Before long, Anna returned to the bedroom, finding Elsa already changed and brushing through her hair.

She quickly dove under the duvet to chase away the persistent chill, and sighed contently when she felt Elsa sidling up to her. They wriggled around for a while, both trying to get comfortable, and ended up with Elsa pressed tightly against Anna's back, taking the role of the large spoon.

They were silent for a few minutes before Elsa spoke up. "I like this," she muttered into the fiery hair.

"I like _you_ ," Anna responded sleepily, pressing her back against Elsa's front a little more firmly.

"I like you too," Elsa yawned, followed by a stretch of silence again.

Anna was on the verge of falling asleep when the realization hit her. "I didn't get those kisses you promised!" she gasped, though it came out sleepily and softly.

Elsa murmured against her neck. "There's always tomorrow."

Anna felt a grin overtaking her lips. "I like the sound of that."


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, this one has been overdue for quite a while now. I do apologise, but I also want to say that I did tell y'all it could take me a while to get these out. After all, I'm working on this one on commission, and there's a lot of back-and-forth discussion going on about how things need to go. But it's here now, so let's all just be happy about that, hm?**

* * *

Waking up early was not something Anna was used to. It wasn't something she was particularly good at, either. Or something she had done all that often, which might explain why she wasn't that good at it, too. It was also not something she enjoyed or liked. True, she could see the appeal in waking up in a warm bed, looking at the alarm and realizing she wouldn't have to get up for a few more hours yet. She could admit that much. But really, she considered it wasted time if she didn't spend her morning sleeping as much as she could.

Today was different, though. It was still dark outside when Anna's eyes shot open, frantically scanning her surroundings in an attempt to figure out where she was, and why she wasn't in her own bedroom. The gentle breathing next to her served as a subtle reminder.

She was glad that her frantic waking hadn't woken Elsa up as well, who was still lying next to her, curled up in a little ball and looking entirely content in her sleep. It was beyond adorable, really, and Anna felt lucky to be a witness to the scene.

Only then did she half-heartedly check her phone to see the time, using her hand to shield Elsa – and herself – from the abrasive light. Apparently, it wasn't even five in the morning yet, meaning that she could sleep for about three more hours.

With a soft sigh, she lowered herself back to the mattress, turning on her side to resume her sleep again. Only she felt wide awake, and staring at the blonde next to her was ever so much more appealing than studying the insides of her eyelids. She could do that whenever she went back home and slept by herself.

She couldn't help a small smile forming on her face as Elsa twitched her nose when a tress of her hair tickled it. Moving gently and carefully, Anna brushed the hair to the side, her smile growing even wider at Elsa's happy sigh.

The redhead knew this would probably be considered as being creepy. After all, who stared at their very-recent girlfriend while she was just trying to sleep peacefully? That's right. Creeps did. But, Anna figured, as long as no one was around to call her out on it, it couldn't really do any harm. Besides, maybe she liked being a creep?

And yeah, Anna was totally aware of the slow ticking of time as it went by, and the climbing of the sun, which had started to shine outside by the time Elsa was starting to shift. Judging by the immensely cute way in which she was scrunching up her nose and keeping her eyes firmly closed, Elsa was about as fond of waking up as Anna was.

Then again, Anna was in a better mood now than she would have been if she'd woken up later. And yeah, they'd have to get out of bed soon, which kinda sucked. But it meant another day at the internship, and Anna was actually really looking forward to that, because her internship was awesome.

"Good morning," she crooned softly as she saw the startlingly blue eyes open slowly. "Sleep well?"

Elsa's mouth curved into a smile as she stretched lazily. "I did, actually. After the murder attempt you committed on me last night, at least."

Anna immediately felt her face fall. "Oh my god, what did I do?"

"You took your pillow and thought it'd be better located on my face," Elsa laughed lightly. "But it was alright. You apologized and went back to sleep after I poked you in your side."

"I am _so_ sorry," Anna immediately spouted. "I do weird stuff in my sleep sometimes, when I've had a really exhausting day. I swear it doesn't happen often."

Elsa chuckled again, sitting up and lazily running a hand through her hair. "It's okay, Anna. I sort of thought it was funny. Now, we only have about an hour to get ready, so we should probably get started on that."

Anna nodded silently, her blush still firmly in place.

"So, the big question is, who gets to use the bathroom first?"

* * *

As it turned out, Elsa got to use the bathroom first, allowing Anna to remain in bed just a little bit longer. When the redhead was finally dressed and freshened up, she followed the sounds – and smells – downstairs, where she ended up in a part of the house she hadn't previously seen, and that evidently contained the kitchen.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Elsa turned around from the stove, eyeing her appreciatively. "You look sharp," she smiled.

Anna looked down for a moment, taking in her blouse and skirt, which was really the most business-appropriate outfit she owned. And yeah, maybe she should go buy more business-appropriate clothing. "Well, of course. I have to impress my boss today," she smiled happily, practically skipping to the table that Elsa had set for the two of them.

The blonde's short bout of laughter was music to Anna's ears. "Trust me, she's plenty impressed already."

"Oh, is she now?" Anna asked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, although she acknowledged she probably looked more ridiculous than anything else.

Luckily, her girlfriend didn't laugh and merely nodded wisely. "I have it on good authority that she is, yes. Now, how about a good breakfast for a long day of work?"

"What's on the menu?"

"Eggs, bacon, sausages, toast and homemade jam," Elsa replied instantly.

Anna released a long whistle. "Do you always have such elaborate breakfasts?"

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, haven't you heard?" Elsa smiled easily as she loaded Anna's plate with the most delicious looking food ever.

"Well, if it gets me a breakfast like this every morning, I'll happily stay with you the rest of my life," Anna joked, pouring herself a glass of milk.

"Then I suppose I have no choice but to keep making you breakfasts," Elsa replied as she sat down opposite her.

Anna bowed over the table, as if she was going to confide a great secret. "Between you and me? I'm pretty sure I'd be happy even if you made me eat spinach or broccoli for breakfast," she stage-whispered.

Elsa took on an expression of feigned shock. "And here I was, getting all worried! For nothing!" she gasped.

"So," Anna started, swallowing a bit of sausage, "what's the plans for today?"

"We have a meeting with some city officials who want to be updated on the courthouse designs in the morning, as well as plenty of paperwork to keep us busy until after lunch. We'll also be going to meet with the foreman at the construction site of the new community building downtown."

"You mean the Pyramid?"

Elsa smiled, "Yes, I mean the Pyramid."

"Awesome!"

When Elsa cleared the remains of their breakfast off the table and rinsed the dishes off quickly, Anna suddenly thought of something else. "Elsa, should we like, come in separately?"

Elsa nodded before turning around. "Of course we do, Anna. You drove here by yourself yesterday, because you didn't want to leave your car in the parking lot."

"Oh, right… But I meant it more like 'should I leave know so that I'm at work earlier than you are'?"

Elsa shrugged. "I don't really see why we should… People arrive at Arendelle Corp around the same time every day. I doubt people are going to be keeping an eye on us."

* * *

Elsa had been right, of course, and no one spared Anna a second glance as she hobbled through the lobby of Arendelle Corp. Everyone only had eyes for Elsa. Which was entirely understandable, of course, and made Anna's heart swell. Because, y'know, everyone was staring at her girlfriend, and Anna could actually call her 'my girlfriend.'

Yeah, that was pretty awesome.

As they reached Elsa's office, nodding a quick hello to Olaf, who was on the phone, Anna dropped her bag near her desk. "So, Your Majesty, what will I be working on today?"

The blonde sifted through the papers in one of her drawers for a moment, eventually pulling out a green folder. "I think you should probably get yourself acquainted with the designs for the Pyramid, since we'll be visiting the site this afternoon and the foreman is bound to have some questions."

She took the folder from her girlfriend – boss – and happily sat down at her desk. "On it!"

Anna started reading eagerly, finding the entire project to be terribly interesting. The large structure, shaped like a Pyramid as its name would suggest, was being built to house a variety of different functions. The first floor would mainly be a gigantic lobby, filled with a lounge and a coffee bar, where patrons could just come in and unwind for a bit. The first floor was to house a library, as well as an art gallery that would be freely accessible. On the third and fourth floors, patrons could find stores selling clothing, shoes, DVDs, music, books and whatever else someone might fancy.

And finally, on the fifth floor, there would be a restaurant, looking out over the park on the other side of the street, with half of the roof falling away to facilitate an open-air terrace. It was quite an impressive undertaking, and Arendelle Corp had been paid handsomely for making the designs.

The redhead had almost finished the file when Olaf opened the door, announcing that the official for their meeting was here. Elsa motioned for Anna to follow her to the meeting room, where coffee, tea, and biscuits had already been provided. Olaf had not forgotten to place a seat for Anna this time, and she soon found herself located at Elsa's right hand.

"Welcome, Mr. Allers," Elsa smiled politely. "What can we do for you today?"

"Who's that?" the grumpy man immediately asked, nodding his head towards Anna.

The blonde arched a single eyebrow. "Miss Anderson is my intern. She's also the one that pointed out the flaw in the previous designs of the courthouse to me."

"I see. I have to say, Miss Arendelle, my superiors aren't too happy about the delay."

Elsa merely shrugged. "We have not missed any deadlines. I warned you and your superiors beforehand. Little things like this happen all the time, and it was folly to think that the first blueprints would immediately be approved so construction could get started."

"Very well. How are things faring?"

Elsa turned towards Olaf. "Olaf, could you please get some of the team up here? I think they're better equipped to brief Mr. Allers than we are."

The few minutes until the architects arrived were spent in a tense and awkward silence, although Elsa herself did not appear fazed by it, happily nibbling on her biscuit and sipping from her coffee. When the architects eventually did arrive, Anna was surprised to find Rapunzel among them.

"You wanted to see us?" the lead architect asked, his face betraying he recognized Allers and probably knew why they had been called here.

"Yes, please, have a seat," Elsa replied, motioning over to the several vacant chairs. "Mr. Allers here would like to know where things stand on the courthouse designs."

The lead architect nodded sagely. "Well, as you know, we had to rework the entire west wing after Mr. Bjorgman's miscalculations. We had ascertained it would take about two weeks. However, with the help of our intern Rapunzel, we have managed to speed our timetable up considerably. If we are lucky, we can have the designs on Miss Arendelle's desk before going home tonight."

"Sped up your timetable from two weeks to two days?" Elsa asked with raised eyebrows. "That is a considerable change. Care to elaborate?"

"Rapunzel has been a great help. She's offered some excellent ideas that, for a change, we could all agree on immediately, cutting out hours upon hours of discussing and trying to convince one another of our viewpoints. Whenever such a discussion did take place, Rapunzel has been able to pull us out of it by suggesting either a new point of view, or a concession that was acceptable for all the parties involved. And, as if she was not useful enough, she did all of the large-scale drawing for us, cutting out the scaling issues entirely and saving us at least two days of work."

Elsa nodded a single time before turning to her side. "Olaf, remind me to sign off on a pay raise for Miss Gothel, please."

"Will do, Elsa," Olaf piped up happily, making a note his tablet.

"So," Elsa then continued, looking at the architects again. "Is it, then, safe to assume that I'll have the new designs at the end of the week?"

"At the latest, yes," the lead architect responded after a short discussion with his group and a lot of nodding on Rapunzel's part.

"Well, then, Mr. Allers. If your superiors are lucky and these blueprints are approved, mind you, I do say _if_ , you can have them by next week."

"How about they finish their work today, you approve the plans tomorrow, and we get the blueprints on Thursday?" he ventured, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Elsa mirrored the motion, making it look a lot more intimidating than her query. "That's not going to happen. Now, if there's nothing else, I'm afraid I have other business that we all need to attend to."

"Of course, of course," the man muttered, getting up from his chair and looking like he never planned to challenge Elsa on anything ever, ever again.

Olaf escorted the man outside as Elsa turned towards the architects. "Don't let him get to you, and just work as you usually would. We have nothing to prove, except that we're excellent architects who can deliver the designs for an excellent building. Time, in this case, is not an issue. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," the lead architect responded good-naturedly, giving a mock-salute.

* * *

Even though she had been sitting here, doing the exact same thing for close to two hours now, Anna was still having the time of her life. Going over professional blueprints one after another, scribbling her thoughts and concerns in the margin and discussing the more complicated cases with Elsa was one of the best ways she could think of spending time.

Ways that didn't take place in a bed, at least.

Then again, some of the really good ways didn't necessarily have to take place in a bed…

The redhead forcibly shook the thoughts of her head. She was at work now, and this was no time to have her mind stuck in the gutter. She had to be professional as long as she was here.

"Ready to go?" Elsa asked from her perch behind her desk, not looking up from her work.

"I was born ready!" Anna cheered, jumping up from her seat. Fun as all this was, she could hardly wait to go and check out the building site of the Pyramid.

* * *

Visiting the Pyramid was horrible.

It had been cold and windy and rainy, due to which the majority of the work crew had been sent home, and she and Elsa were left to meet with the foreman, who did not at all seem pleased about two architects walking around his grounds.

But the benefactors that paid for the construction of the Pyramid had insisted that Elsa herself do a few final checks during construction, making sure the blueprints were followed down to the very last line. And the foreman did _not_ appreciate their input.

Still, all in all, Anna was happy to have experienced it. She had learned a lot during the short visit, and knowledge gained was never a bad thing. That, however, didn't keep her from being a little downcast when they returned to the office.

"Something wrong, Anna?" Elsa asked sympathetically, after Anna had been sitting at her desk working on the final blueprints of today in total silence for an hour.

"No… I'm fine. Everything's fine."

"Anna, talk to me…" Elsa urged, turning away from her work to give Anna her full attention.

"I told you, I'm fine," Anna tried, offering a weak smile. "Just a little disappointed by the visit to the Pyramid, I suppose. No biggie."

Elsa got up from her chair, standing behind her and encircling her shoulders from behind. "Trust me, visiting construction sites isn't always as bad as it was today. I think he was just in a foul mood because of the weather."

"Yeah, well, it's not particularly helping my mood either," Anna groused jokingly.

"How about I invite you to stay over again tonight? Would that help your mood?"

"Mm," Anna murmured as Elsa nuzzled into her neck. "I think that might go a long way, yes. Would you be making dinner?"

"I would," Elsa promised, nose buried in fiery hair.

"And breakfast?"

"Of course. Can't have you running off to a better cook, now can I?"

"That we cannot, no. Very well. Consider my mood to be improved."

Just then, Olaf wandered into the office. Taking the two women in, he started sporting a fierce blush, despite their relatively innocent positioning. He awkwardly waved a set of blueprints around, dropped them on Elsa's desk, and hightailed out of the office.

"Poor Olaf," Anna mused. "I think we might have scarred him by hugging each other."

Elsa hummed affirmatively.

"He'll get used to it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Christmas, everyone! Okay, short confession: I'm a total Christmas-freak. I love everything that has to do with Christmas. And it is my personal belief that everyone should try and do something for those around them and dear to them. And, despite the fact I don't know a single one of you by name (okay, that's a lie, I know a few of you by name, but shush), you are all very dear to me.**

 **Over the past year, you have all showered me with appreciation, support, gratefulness and kindness. As a little 'thank you,' I've decided to update all of my stories simultaneously as a small Christmas gift to y'all. Enjoy your holidays, you awesome people, and y'all will hear more from me in 2016! ;)**

* * *

It hadn't seemed like such a difficult task, when Elsa had asked. Sure, she knew it meant a lot, and it was quite daunting. But she had thought she'd just be, you know, occupying Elsa's seat while she was attending some meetings at City Hall. Sort of as a substitute.

She hadn't exactly expected she'd sort of be in charge of Arendelle Corp. Elsa had… neglected to mention that little fact. That honour had fallen to Olaf, who had happily informed her of the memos waiting for her on Elsa's desk as she had come in this morning.

Most were relatively mundane and could wait until Elsa got back. A few of the others were a simple matter of asking Olaf to note down a meeting or re-schedule something in Elsa's calendar. Little things like that, she could handle. No, things had only started to get real when there had been a phone call – to Olaf's desk, of course – informing them of an unscheduled visitor who had somehow talked his way up to the fifteenth floor. Where he was now hounding the architects in charge of his designs.

Anna's first instinct was to just call security and get the man tossed out to the street. But before she made that call, she took a minute to think what Elsa would do. And, perhaps not entirely unexpectedly, the answer came to her easily and quickly.

So here she was, standing in the elevator, on her way to the fifteenth floor to handle this so-called 'menace' herself. She might not be the CEO of Arendelle Corp, but Olaf – and by extension Elsa – had assured her that, at this moment, she was the next best thing.

What had Elsa been thinking, putting an intern – who had only interned here for about a week now – in charge of _her company_? Yeah, that's right, she hadn't been thinking at all! And Anna was determined to give the blonde – whom she still loved very much, of course – a piece of her mind once she got back. This was just being… irresponsible.

As the elevator doors opened, and a cacophony of voices drifted into her ears, Anna steeled her resolve. If this was going to end well for everyone, she had to call on her… inner-Elsa. If she had such a thing.

"What is going on here?" she asked with as much authority as she could muster.

"And who might you be?" the loudest of all the yelling men asked, turning around to face her, hands crossed over his chest.

"Right now, I'm the person in charge of this company," Anna replied with a simple shrug. None of the employees went against her. Not that she had expected them to; Elsa had sent out a very clear e-mail telling them that, until her return, Anna and Olaf were in charge of day-to-day operations.

"Aren't you a bit young?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Only three years younger than our CEO," Anna replied honestly. "Now, what seems to be the problem?"

"These men refuse to alter my designs!"

"Alright. Gentlemen, let's move into your workspace and take care of this like adults, shall we? Everyone else, get back to work!"

As everyone returned to their workstations, Anna, the architects, and the unhappy client moved into one of the larger, separate offices in the back, where several drawing boards and desks had been pushed together. "Alright, so, what project are we talking about here?"

One of the architects pulled a folder from a stack on his desk, handing it to Anna, who quickly leafed through the several pages. "Okay, so this is about the new apartment complex north of the city? What is the problem."

"We were contracted to design the complex," the lead architect explained. "We were told it was to be as modern as possible, both inside and out. So, we made designs, revised them when necessary, and had Miss Arendelle approve them last week. Now, the deadline was later this week, and now Mr. Hirskin here drops by to tell us he'd like the building to be more blended with the natural surroundings."

"And that isn't possible?" Anna asked.

"Not without moving the deadline. Besides, as you can see, there's only four of us, and it's a large building. It would take us at least a few days to rework the blueprints."

"That is unacceptable. I _must_ have the designs this afternoon. Tomorrow at the very latest," the client groused.

"Can I have a look at the sketches and blueprints, please?" Anna asked patiently, rolling her eyes inwardly.

The designs were fairly straight-forward, Anna though. Sure, they were designs for an entire apartment complex, counting over a dozen floors and containing the most minute details necessary for construction. But still, fairly straight-forward.

"Okay, not taking the matter of time in consideration for a moment," Anna started, turning her attention to the architects again. "Would you have any ideas or suggestions for making the building more… nature-y?"

They all shook their heads, claiming they'd need time to think about it, and that it wasn't exactly their specialty. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Anna considered the possibilities. She could play it safe, do the logical thing, and tell the client that he should have told them this sooner. But if there was one thing she had learned during her classes that it was to _always_ try and accommodate the client as much as you could.

And it wasn't like there weren't any other options… It could backfire, though. Or simply not pan out. For a moment Anna cursed Elsa for putting her in charge of an entire company during her _first_ week of the internship. Then again, if Elsa put her in charge… she must've thought Anna had what it took, right?

"Okay then. Give me one minute, I'll be right back. And no squabbling, please!"

Quickly stepping out of the office and taking her business-phone out of her pocket, she gave Olaf a quick call, telling him what she was planning and asking for his approval. He didn't seem to be too worried about the entire matter, but told Anna that if she thought this was the right course of action, he supported her.

Her next call was to one of the other numbers saved in the phone, which were organized by project. "Hello?"

"Hello. This is Miss Anderson. I would like to thank you for your swift delivery of the courthouse blueprints yesterday. I found them when I came into the office today."

"Glad to be of service, Miss," the lead architect replied good-naturedly. "Most of the credit goes to the spunky intern, though."

"Speaking of Rapunzel, could you please send her to the fifteenth floor for a moment? We have a bit of a situation, and I think she might be able to solve it."

"Will do, boss," the architect laughed.

With her next call, she summoned Merida as well, and mere minutes later, the two interns stood in front of her, eagerly smiling and anticipating their next task. Anna quickly explained the situation to the two of them, and they seemed to appreciate the challenge.

"Alright gentlemen," she smiled as they stepped into the office again. "These are Rapunzel and Merida. They will, hopefully, be able to speed the process along quite nicely. Thoughts, ladies?"

Merida immediately dashed forward, taking several of the sketches pinned to the whiteboard down and placing them on the desk. "I wud start changing the color scheme. If ye want more nature themes, go with greens and browns, instead of reds and yellows," she muttered, hardly understandable due to the combination of volume and accent.

Rapunzel looked at the blueprints, occasionally turning her head to the side, until it looked like she was about to perform a cartwheel just to see the drawing upside down. To make everyone's life a little easier, Anna decided to just turn the paper around.

"So the idea is to make it blend in with the hills behind it better, but still have it come across as a modern structure, right?"

"Correct."

"I think I have a few ideas in mind… May I?"

Motioning for her to go ahead, Rapunzel immediately took a red pen, crossing out certain parts of the blueprint and drawing arrows to the corrections she drew elsewhere."

Anna waited a few minutes, smiling as her friends were so engrossed in their work that they seemed to forget the initial question. "Merida. Rapunzel. I wanted to know if you could help reworking these blueprints before the end of the day…"

"Aye, lass. Nuh prublehm," Merida grumbled, looking more annoyed at the interruption. Rapunzel nodded pensively. "I don't think we need to make a lot of major changes. I have some ideas that are relatively small, but still have a fairly big impact on the appearance. If we all work on it together, I'm sure we'll manage…"

"Would that be satisfactory, gentlemen?" Anna asked the other architects, who nodded eagerly as they watched the suggested alterations the interns were making.

"Mr. Hirskin?"

"Of course, Miss Anderson. Thank you for going the extra mile. I will make certain it is brought to my superiors' attention, as well."

"Good. I should get back to my office now. Rapunzel, if there is anything you need, call me on my private number, please?"

"Will do!" the brunette chirped happily, already pointing out some of her ideas to the other architects.

* * *

Compared to that, her morning was actually remarkably ordinary. Sure, she had to take a few of Elsa's phone calls, had to rearrange the schedule with Olaf a few times and went over some blueprints that were slightly above her head, but all in all, pretty ordinary.

Still, she was pretty glad when Elsa came walking into the office, shooting Anna a dazzling smile and immediately wrapping her up in a hug.

"Someone's glad I didn't burn her business down," Anna joked, firmly tucked in the nook of Elsa's neck.

"I had no doubt you would do fine, Anna. You know I wouldn't have burdened you with the job if I had…"

"There was a slight issue with Mr. Hirskin of the-"

"Apartment complex, yes, I heard. I received an e-mail half an hour ago, explaining the problem, detailing the solution you had worked out, and thanking us for taking on the extra work, while we really did not need to."

"So… I didn't do something wrong?" Anna asked shyly, still not entirely confident in the decisions she had made.

"Anna, you did better than I could have possibly asked of you. Instead of sticking to what you knew, you stuck out your neck and took a leap of faith. It resulted in a happy client, and happy clients come back for more projects. If Mr. Hirskin and his superiors contact us for another design in the future, we have you to thank for that."

Anna felt her cheeks burning up, quickly ducking her head. "It wasn't a big deal."

"It _was_ a big deal, Anna," Elsa said, "now, why don't you run me through everything I missed this morning?"

The rundown of everything Elsa missed only took them about ten minutes, after which they both went back to business as usual, Anna still taking great joy in going over other people's blueprints and criticizing them. She almost fell out of her chair when her phone started ringing suddenly, startling the life out of her.

"Anna speaking."

"Hey! It's me. Rapunzel, I mean. We're done!"

"Okay, could you all come up to Miss Arendelle's office? She came back in a while ago, so she can immediately approve the designs or point out what needs work."

"Alright, got ya. On our way!"

Sure enough, only a few minutes later, they heard Rapunzel's excited babbling, and Olaf telling them to go on ahead to the meeting room, where they could wait for Miss Arendelle. To Anna's surprise, however, Elsa made no move to get up from her desk, despite obviously having _heard_ Olaf's words.

"Um, Elsa? They're waiting… for you…?"

The blonde merely smiled at her. "It's not my project, though. It's yours. How about you go in there, check out the blueprints, and, if you think they should be approved, bring them here?"

"You want me to look over the blueprints?"

"Yes," Elsa replied simply.

Naturally, Anna did as she was asked, meeting her friends – and the others – in the meeting room and carefully studying the blueprints. Rapunzel had been right: through a few relatively minor adjustments, they had managed to make the building blend into the hills remarkably well. Then again, this was _exactly_ the reason Anna had asked for Rapunzel and Merida.

"Mr. Hirskin, are these designs in line with what you and your superiors had in mind?" Anna asked after having decided that she could not discover any short-coming on the blueprints.

"Certainly, Miss Anderson. Your people did quite a remarkable job."

"So, Anna, should I sign off on them?" Elsa's voice came from the doorway, where she had apparently been standing for some time.

"I think so, yes," Anna smiled back at her. The blonde quickly went over the blueprints, her mind clearly analysing everything she saw before her, occasionally asking a question about technicalities or other little things. Not even fifteen minutes later, the architects all left, having Elsa's signature on their work and the instructions to scan the blueprints, hand the copies to Mr. Hirskin and file the originals in the archive.

"Anna? Olaf told me you have not had a chance to have lunch yet? How about you take your friends out to lunch somewhere? The company will pick up the check."

* * *

Anna sat at one of their favourite cafes, surrounded by Rapunzel, Merida, Hans and Eugene, the girls telling the boys about 'the little job Anna arranged for them' in great detail, jealousy clear on the gentlemen's faces.

"No fair, Anna! Why did you ask them and not us?" Eugene complained loudly.

"Hey, we all know they're better at that sort of stuff," Anna snickered light-heartedly. "If something comes up for which I can use your skillsets, I'll make sure to do everything in my power to saddle you boys up with more work."

"We'll hold you to that," Hans pouted, looking utterly ridiculous in his attempt. He immediately brightened up. "I talked to Eric, and he told me how Weselton actually ran out of his lecture today. Looks like the old coot finally cracked."

They all shared a laugh at the antics of one of their least-liked professors, before Eugene suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "That reminds me, Anna. I came by your place yesterday to bring back that geometrics book I borrowed from you, but you weren't there."

"Oh, that's right, I was with El-"

The moment she cut herself off, mouth snapping shut with an audible click of her teeth crashing together, she knew it was already too late. All four of her friends were eyeing her suspiciously. Eventually, it was Hans who spoke up.

"You were with Elsa?"

Anna nodded, quickly trying to spin a tale. "Yeah. There were some new blueprints we had to go over, so she asked me to run some overtime…"

"I'm not buying it," Eugene immediately interjected.

"And why's that?" Anna huffed in reply.

"Because it was around eleven when I got to your place, and you weren't there. And I tried again half an hour later, and you still weren't there. Besides, your car wasn't in the parking lot when _I_ left the office."

"I saw the boss-missus leavin' a little after five," Merida mumbled. "Anna too. Din't think much 'fit."

"Ohmygod you two are SLEEPING TOGETHER!" Hans suddenly bellowed.

At that point, Anna was pretty close to tears. Her stupid slip had brought this out into the light, and now they would think she only got this internship because she was sleeping with the boss. This was sure to ruin the good thing she and her friends had going on… And what if all the other people at Arendelle Corp found out? They'd be the talk of the company, for sure…

"Everyone shut up for a moment," Rapunzel interjected, kindly but sternly at the same time. "Anna, sweetheart, listen to me. _If_ you and Elsa having something with each other, that's fine. We know you're one of the best students of our year, and you deserve the internship entirely. We know Miss Arendelle is not the kind of person to give you a top-position just because of something like this. And _if_ it is true, I promise you none of us will _ever_ tell anyone else. You have absolutely nothing to be upset about."

Sensing the gravity of the situation, all of her friends suddenly looked solemn, nodding their heads and confirming everything Rapunzel had said. The petite brunette continued with a small smirk once she noticed Anna had caught her breath. "But you really do need to give us all the details!"

Despite everything, Anna felt a small smile forming on her lips as she started the story of how she and Elsa had gotten together, not leaving a single bit out.

Well, except for the escort-part. That was entirely none of their business.

* * *

Getting back into the office was somewhat of a nerve-wrecking occasion. Anna had told her friends all about her relation with Elsa – obviously leaving out the part that they had met because Anna had worked as an escort for one day. She didn't really mind her friends knowing that, mind you. She just didn't want her friends knowing Elsa had called for an escort.

On the way back, though, she had decided that she had to tell Elsa that she had told them. If one of them accidentally slipped up and blabbed their secret, well, then at least Elsa knew how it had happened. And being well-prepared never hurt anyone, right?

"Something wrong, Anna?"

"No!" she immediately replied. "Why would something be wrong?"

"You're standing in the middle of my office, repeatedly opening and closing your mouth as if you want to tell me something, yet entirely silent," Elsa replied with a small grin. "If you're going to ask if you can come over _again_ tonight, I already sort of anticipated and made sure to have enough groceries in store."

"They know."

Elsa cocked her head sideways, raising her left eyebrow into a perfect arch of confusion. "Who knows what?"

"I uhm… I accidentally told my friends about us…" Anna muttered, feeling entirely ashamed of her indiscretion.

"Oh… okay. Are you almost ready to leave? I just have to drop these folders off at Olaf's desk and then I'm done for today."

"You're not… mad?"

"Of course not, why would I be?"

"I told them about us," Anna said, emphasising every word.

"Accidentally, yes. And besides, we're both consenting adults and we are not doing anything wrong. I really don't see the need for the cloak and dagger approach."

"But…"

"Just because I don't want to scream it off the roofs doesn't mean I don't want anyone to know, Anna. I just happen to think that, if it's any of their business, they'll find out eventually."

Anna nodded. That actually made sense, on some level… "I didn't tell them about the… er… circumstances of our first meeting," Anna muttered, visibly flinching.

Elsa smiled happily. "Good. _That_ part I'd actually prefer to keep to ourselves."

"Can I tell my parents about us?" Anna asked hesitantly.

"Of course, Anna. I don't see why not."

"They'll want to meet you, you know?"

"Well, if they raised you, I imagine they can't be so terrifying I won't survive the meet-the-parents-meeting."

Anna smiled widely, dropping down at her desk. "Let me just finish this blueprint, and then I'll follow you to wherever you want me to go."

As she sat there, scribbling notes in the margin, she felt Elsa's arms embracing her from behind, the blonde leaning into her back and resting her chin on the top of her head. And in that embrace, Anna wondered why she had ever been worried about Elsa getting angry at her.

It seemed so silly, now.


	5. Chapter 5

**So, this chapter was actually supposed to contain another scene. But I sort of wrote myself stuck, so I'll put that in a later chapter. I hope you all enjoy this, because it's sort of a product of my writer's block (which doesn't seem to be relenting, damnit...) And thus it may, or may not, be any good. But you be the judge of that, and let me know what you think! :)**

 **P.S. - I was forced to change some of my British-isms into 'more fitting American English.' Please spam T3l4m0n with complains about my lack of Britishisms on my behalf? He's the one that made me change them... :(**

* * *

She was already four weeks into her internship, and life was good. Heck, life probably could not possibly be better than it was, Anna figured. For starters, she had a fully paid internship at one of the most prestigious architecture firms in the _entire_ United States. And it wasn't 'just' paid – it actually paid rather royally.

Anna didn't think she had ever been as well-off as she was now. She had been able to restock her entire wardrobe – which had been a necessity, really, because she lacked clothes that said 'professional' and had an abundance of clothes that simple screamed 'klutzy student.' She had also been able to actually pay her rent in time this month, which had almost caused her landlord to faint. And, most importantly, she'd been able to send some money to her parents to support them now that her father was out of a job. So, yes, her internship paid… quite well.

But, if someone were to ask, Anna could honestly say that she was not so superficial as to consider the financial benefits of her internship the primary pro. No, while she enjoyed the money, she valued the experience far, far more. Even though she was practically a rookie in the company, Elsa gave her the opportunity to work alongside her, learn from her actions, attend important meetings, inspect ridiculously complicated blueprints, point out mistakes, make creative suggestions, meet clients, and grow into the very best architect she could ever hope to be.

And, of course, Elsa herself was the _main_ reason Anna's life was good. They had been dating for four weeks, and were definitely still going strong. In fact, Anna had realized that she was slowly starting to forget what her apartment looked like. Last time she'd gone over to pack up a few things, she had gotten annoyed at the fact she couldn't find where she kept some of her stuff, because it wasn't in the place where she would expect it at Elsa's house.

And Elsa herself, for all her imaging as a cold, professional businesswoman, was quite possible the biggest softie on the face of the planet. Whenever they were in private, Anna would get showered in attention – holding hands, being hugged from behind, pecks on her cheek or lips, her hair being tucked behind her ear, or even just a soft hand moving across her back each time Elsa would walk past her.

Far be it from Anna to complain, of course. She was probably doling out nearly as much attention to Elsa as the blonde was to her. If she was being honest, it might even be a little more on good days. And she did always try to be honest.

So, even if, miraculously, some deity would come down from wherever he lived, and told her she could change one thing about her life right now, she wouldn't. Everything was _perfect_.

Well… Except for that one minor thing. And it was really quite insignificant, in the grand scheme of things. Not even so much as a hiccup, if she thought about it. She was really just being silly. But… well, she and Elsa hadn't had sex.

Well, of course they had sex. That first time, when it was 'just' an escort and her client. But not since they'd started dating. They had agreed that they would grow into a more natural relationship – but Anna was starting to get a little antsy about Elsa maybe expecting her to make the first move, or Elsa not being ready, and Anna's first move coming across as wanting to rush her.

There had been a lot of cuddling, and probably even more make-out sessions. Some of which got rather… Um… Heated… But they always stopped before Anna could muster up the courage to… continue, so to speak.

But, like she said, it was really quite a minor hindrance. She was certain it would be resolved in no time at all. Probably. Perhaps.

But she should really not be thinking about sex with Elsa in the middle of a normal work-day. Especially considering the fact that Elsa was sitting just a few feet away from her, and her awkwardness never failed to outwardly manifest itself through the blabbing of _very_ private thoughts.

"Anna?"

She whipped her head up, wondering if some of her thoughts had, perhaps, slipped by her lips without her noticing, but Elsa was smiling politely, so probably not.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Simmons will be here in about half an hour," the blonde replied with a smile.

"The representative from that European business-chain, right?"

"That's right. If you could please go and find the other interns, and shepherd them all to the meeting room on this floor, that'd be much appreciated."

"Sure thing," Anna smiled broadly. This was probably the easiest task she'd have to do all day. Really, it was just a simple matter of sending a message to their group text.

 _Anna: Boss lady summons y'all to the meeting room outside her office. There's work to do! :D_

 _Punz: Yay!_

 _Hans: On my way, mini-boss!_

 _Flynn: My brilliant genius will join you up there in a minute, people. Better prepare yourselves… ;)_

 _Mer: … I will be a wee bit late._

It literally took no less than ten minutes for all of them – even Merida – to come up and be seated in the meeting room. As soon as Olaf signalled they were all there, Anna quickly ducked into the room as well.

"Hey guys. Some big-shot company representative from Europe is coming over in half an hour. They want a fancy-ass corporate headquarters on the better side of the ocean as well, so obviously they came to us. Elsa asked me to gather you all here. I'm not sure what other architects will be here, but I'm sure they should be up any moment now. Just… lean back and relax for a while. And try not to make a mess, please?"

"Don't worry, Anna. We can be professional," Rapunzel smiled from her perch, turning to a grimace as Hans and Eugene started tossing packets of sugar at each other. "Merida and I will sort them out. No worries," she sighed eventually.

Anna gave them a quick nod before returning to her office, sitting down at her desk and starting the next task on her list – mindlessly sorting through corporate accounts wasn't exactly fun, but it had to be done nevertheless.

"Oh, you can leave those for me," Elsa smiled as she took the papers off of Anna's desk. "You'll be busy, after all."

"And what exactly would I be busy _with_ , Elsa? This is actually the only remaining task I have for today."

"You'll be meeting with Mr. Simmons, of course. I thought I had made that clear?"

"Me?"

"Yes. I thought it'd be… educational for you and your friends – the other interns – to work on a project of your own. Which includes meeting the client, discussing their wishes, the whole works."

"You're letting me… run a project?"

"That's what I just said, Anna."

"You realize I might run the entire company into the ground, right?"

"Doubtful," Elsa smirked. "At worst, we'll lose a big and profitable project because of you."

Anna sighed. "You really need to work on your motivational skills, Elsa. _Really_."

"Oh, please," Elsa smiled, hugging Anna from behind and resting her chin on top of her head. "You will do fine. Your friends will do fine. And, if you _really_ need me, I'll be only a few doors away. But you have been in enough meetings to know how all of this works – you know what we can and cannot do, you know what we pride ourselves on, you know how we calculate our prices. You've got this covered. You're ready for this."

"Okay," Anna murmured, leaning back into the embrace. "Are you sure you want _me_ to do this, though? I can still find some other seasoned architect that doesn't have an active project yet and call him up here."

"Now, that would be cheating," Elsa chided with a soft smile. "This one is all yours."

"Alright. I can do this. I'm ready for this."

Elsa smiled down at her softly. "Of course you are, Anna. You were born ready."

The door opened, revealing Olaf's head. He had taken to peeking inside with barely-open eyes, afraid of catching his boss making out with her assistant-slash-intern in the office. Again.

"Mr. Simmons from Blackwell Corp is here, Elsa."

"Well, Anna, that's your cue. Good luck," the blonde beamed, pecking her cheek as Anna rose from her chair.

Olaf smiled encouragingly. "He's being escorted up. You have about… three minutes."

"Gotcha. Coffee and tea are ready?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Snacks, too?"

"Yes, ma'am," Olaf repeated.

"Awesome, thank you. Also, don't ma'am me."

"Yes, ma'am," Olaf repeated yet again, teasing glint in his eyes.

Anna would have gone into it, had she not been determined to reach the meeting room as quickly as humanly – or non-humanly – possible.

"Alright everyone, change of plans," she rushed as she stepped into the room, all eyes instantly on her. "Elsa says this one is ours. I'm leading the project, and you'll be doing all the work."

"Anna, that's awesome!" Rapunzel immediately cheered, the guys giving each other a high-five.

"In here, sir," Olaf's voice sounded, the door opening wide enough for a stern-looking businessman to step inside, eyes instantly scanning the room.

"Afternoon," he grunted, holding his hand out towards Anna. "Robert Simmons, from Blackwell Corporation. I assume you're the team we will be paying for?"

"That's correct. I'm Anna Anderson, these are Rapunzel, Eugene, Merida and Hans."

The man continued to eye them suspiciously, before showing a faint smile. "Young faces. Fresh ideas. Perhaps this will all work out better than I had expected."

"Please, have a seat," Anna directed, gesturing towards the empty seat while Rapunzel placed coffee and tea within reach. "And let's discuss what you want from us."

The man did as instructed, pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding six spoons of sugar. Anna could barely supress her grimace.

"You know, we contacted several other firms before we came here," the representative started, taking several folders from his bag. "But none of them managed to get it quite right, I'm afraid."

"Well, we'll be sure to do our best," Anna smiled winsomely. "Why don't you tell us what you have in mind?"

"You have to understand, Ms. Anderson, that we're a _young_ company," the man started, sliding several stacks of paper – land deeds and sketches and pictures and permits – across the table. "We want to stand out in a crowd, and we want our building to do the same thing. We could easily buy or rent office space already available… But we can't work in a dreary grey-brick office tower. We need something _special_."

"Special is our specialty," Rapunzel chirped happily, taking the pictures off the table and looking them over, grimacing as she went through them. "These are really… non-flattering."

"Exactly!" the man cried victoriously. "That's what _we_ told all the previous architects we approached. But they kept throwing around terms like 'functionality' and 'structural soundness.' It was exhausting, really."

Hans snickered. "Well, structural soundness is something of an important issue to keep in mind."

"Yeah, but that's no excuse for ugly buildings," Merida added, half hidden behind a steaming cup of coffee.

"Alright, so no boring buildings," Anna summarised, focusing all the attention again. "What does Blackwell expect from us?"

The man released a thoughtful hum for a moment. "Well, most importantly, we want the building to represent us, it needs to be flashy and young and snazzy."

At those words, everyone opened up the folders in front of them, eyes busily scanning pages as the room was engulfed in a temporary silence.

"So, you're a company focused on creativity, correct?" Eugene ventured eventually.

"That's right, we work with-"

"Books, arts and crafts materials, up and coming artists, that sort of things," Hans interrupted casually, waving the folder through the air half-heartedly.

"So, basically, we just need to make sure the design is creative?" Merida asked.

Hans, of course, butted in before anyone else could respond. "Creative and structurally sound would be preferred, I would think."

"Let's not forget functional," Rapunzel added, "they do want to work in the building, after all. Not just sit outside and stare at it."

"Well, naturally, we'd-"

"It's a large plot of land," Eugene murmured, not paying their client any heed as Anna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Hey, guys, how about we stop firing random thoughts into the ether and actually give our client a chance to talk?"

"No, no, that's quite fine," Mr. Simmons hastily murmured, waving his hand dismissively.

"We always work like this," Merida grumbled at practically the same moment.

"True," Anna conceded. "But normally, we don't have a client. Working on assignments in class is something entirely different from… this."

"Right," Eugene nodded sagely. "Our apologies, Mr. Simmons. We're a little new at all this," he said sheepishly.

"Quite fine, quite fine. I actually enjoy watching you work – you seem quite attuned to one another. Please, do continue. I'm dying to see what you come up with."

"Alright, like I said, it's a large plot of land," Eugene continued, focusing his attention on the rest again. "The possibilities are virtually endless."

"Does the permit specify anything regarding the building's parameters?" Anna asked, already being used to leading her little band of architectural misfits.

Hans flicked through the pages faster than Anna would have thought humanly possible if she hadn't seen him do it plenty of times before. "Well, we can't build a skyscraper," he eventually murmured. "We have to stay under ten floors in height. As for the rest, we get to go wild."

"Ten floors is plenty," Anna nodded to herself. "Ideas?"

"The entire neighbourhood around the land is filled with corporate offices. All dreadfully boring. A park on the east side, though, we should work off that."

"We could do a castle or palace-like structure!" Rapunzel squealed, "and make it so that the park looks like it's the garden!"

Mr. Simmons seemed to perk up at that suggestion, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Not really the most functional lay-out, though," Eugene offered reluctantly. "Castles and palaces have wings, and going from one to another would be bothersome. Besides, I've never seen a ten-floor palace."

"We don't have to use all ten floors. We _can_ , but we don't _have_ to," Anna interjected.

"How 'bout a tower?" Merida asked suddenly, looking at the ceiling. "Towers are handy, right?"

"The entire neighbourhood is already filled with towers, though," Hans offered up, looking displeased with the idea.

"We'll make it round, instead of square," Merida shrugged. "That way, it'll be different."

"We'd lose space at the corners, though. Round spaces are a pain in the ass," Hans groaned. "Especially when designing the interior layout."

"Why have an interior layout in the first place?" Eugene asked, rubbing his chin. "I don't know how they work at Blackwell, but I can see a circular tower working. Just make every floor one large, open room. Maybe with the exception of some of the upper floors, for meeting rooms and executive offices and shi- stuff. And stuff."

"And even if that won't work," Anna added, "we can work out a way to make a round tower work. If our client is amenable to the idea, of course."

Simmons was nodding enthusiastically. "Oh, quite, quite. I'll need some sketches to share with my superiors, of course, but I do think this sounds wonderful indeed."

"Alright, Eugene, calculations. Merida, structure sketches of the front. Rapunzel will add the details like windows and colours. Hans, work on possible layouts for the floors. I'll figure out a way to fill the empty corners of the plot. Can't leave it as a pile of dirt, after all. Mr. Simmons, if you would like to, you can come back in an hour or so? Or you can watch us do boring grunt work..."

"I'd hardly call this boring, Ms. Anderson. It's quite a marvel to see you and your team work. I'll stay, if that is okay."

The room was mostly quiet for the next forty minutes, the only spoken words being the exchange of relevant information in clipped whispers, and the only other sounds being the scratching of pens and pencils on paper, the tapping on Eugene's laptop, and the prattling of the coffee-maker.

Their client seemed entirely content to just sit there, sipping his coffee and watching them work with an amused smile. All in all, the situation wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking as Anna had expected it to be. It was actually sort of like working on one of their college assignments.

At least, as long as she didn't ponder about the money involved in this deal…

Eventually, they all put their writing and drawing utensils down, and Anna looked around the table expectantly. Without any ado, Merida got up from her seat and pinned several sketches to the whiteboard. They all depicted a large, circular tower in front of a wealthy garden – or park, if you will.

Everyone was quiet as Merida explained the dimensions and scales and sizes of the structure, before Rapunzel started explaining how she had made the wide windows – which took up almost half the outer wall of the tower – asynchronous to make the building look more modern.

Following that, Hans placed several sketches onto the whiteboard, clearly outlining different ways to structure the floors on the inside. One was entirely empty, save for the elevator and stairs, storage closets and bathrooms, and two large circles in the middle – support columns, Eugene offered helpfully – while others were clearly portraying separate offices, meeting rooms, and workplaces.

"This is grand," their client muttered under his breath. "Just… Grand!"

"I'm taking it you're pleased?" Anna asked with a small smirk.

"Very much so, Ms. Anderson. I can see why this company has such a high-standing reputation. Shall I take these sketches with me so we can make a decisions?"

"Eugene, would you please make copies for Mr. Simmons to take with him?"

"On it, boss-ma'am!"

"And what about the money?" Simmons asked slowly.

"Well, Blackwell Corp paid for this consultation upfront. Simply decide whether you want to continue working with us or not. If your superiors feel like this idea is entirely wrong, but want us to pitch something else, you can return for another meeting like this one. If the idea is satisfactory, we can discuss the financial compensations for the continuing work during a follow-up meeting," Anna answered fluently, knowing this side of the business like the back of her hand now.

"Very well, Ms. Anderson. I imagine we will be seeing each other again soon, then. Thank you, this has been an absolute pleasure. You'll be hearing from us."

"Of course, sir. Someone will escort you back to the lobby."

Once the man had stepped into the elevator with a final, chipper wave, Anna turned towards 'her' team. "Good job, guys. You were absolutely amazing. Let's hope we get the contract… For now, you should all go and make yourselves useful again," she said, shooing them towards the elevator as well. To her surprise, they all smiled eagerly, happy to do more work. Even Eugene.

She, too, felt pretty good when she stepped into Elsa's office, the blonde already smiling at her, and a stack of papers waiting on her desk. "Welcome back, Anna. I hear everything went quite well."

"You heard?"

"Olaf may or may not have been eavesdropping," Elsa admitted with a shrug. "So, what's the plan?"

Taking the sketches clutched in her hand, she made her way to Elsa's desk, placing them in front of her. "A circular tower, possibly white stone. Asynchronous windows, eight stories high, looking out over the park."

"I see," Elsa muttered, looking all of the sketches over intently. "Very impressive. You all did a very good job."

"Thank you, Elsa. That… means a lot, coming from you."

"Coming from me as your boss – the CEO of Arendelle Corp – or coming from me as your girlfriend?" the blonde smirked.

Anna pretended to think for a while, before shrugging. "Both, I suppose."

"Good. Now, after you've given me a celebratory kiss, could you look over those blueprints on your desk and sort them out for me?"

"Happily," Anna replied with a large smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

The day was almost coming to a close when Elsa pushed her work to the side, turned her chair around, and started staring at Anna intently. The redhead waited for a few moments – certain Elsa had something to say or ask – and when nothing came, she turned away from her own work as well.

"Something I can help you with?" she asked with a coy smile.

"I was thinking… you should invite your friends over for dinner," Elsa spoke softly, after a few more moments of silence. "Perhaps tonight?"

"Wait, wait. You want me to invite my friends over for dinner at your place?"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Elsa asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Well, yeah. But… for business?"

"No… though we might discuss business at some point. I just thought… well, we're dating, and I don't know any of your friends."

"I don't know any of yours either," Anna remarked amusedly.

"Well, that's logical. I don't really have any," Elsa muttered with a sheepish smile. "So, dinner tonight? Or was it a bad idea?"

"No, no! It's a great idea. I was just a little surprised, is all. I'll um… I'll text them to come over around seven?"

Elsa quickly checked the clock on the wall. "Yes. Seven works just fine. That does mean, however, that we need to go home right now. Otherwise, dinner will not be ready in time…"

"Alright, I'll text them from the car, then," Anna smiled, already grabbing her bag.

 _Anna: Hey guys. You're all invited over for dinner at Elsa's place tonight. Be there at 7. No excuses._

 _Mer: Free food? Count me in!_

 _Punz: Wouldn't miss it for the world, Anna. I'll be there!_

 _Hans: Text us the address?_

 _Anna: Forsdale Crescent 6, just outside town!_

 _Hans: Roger that. See you at 7._

 _Flynn: … can someone give me a ride?_

 _Punz: You can ride me_

 _Punz: WITH. You can ride WITH me!_

 _Flynn: And here I was, getting my hopes up :(_

Anna snickered to herself as Elsa drove them home, watching the messages flood her phone. "They're all coming over. You better make a lot of food. Merida and Eugene eat like pigs…"

"Duly noted," Elsa replied from behind the wheel, small but happy smile on her lips.

* * *

A few hours later, the house was pleasantly reeking of Elsa's cooking – something with roasted pork, exotic spices and a vegetable Anna could not properly pronounce. Elsa had shooed her out of the kitchen after her clumsy attempt to help - which had almost started a fire – and thus the redhead was free to open the door and find Rapunzel and Eugene waiting outside.

"Hey there. Come on in!" she smiled happily, opening the door wider and leading her friends towards the dining room. "The others should be here any moment, and dinner's… probably ready soon-ish?"

"Great, I'm starving!" Eugene declared, wincing as Rapunzel elbowed him in the side.

"Thank you, Anna. We'll be fine, and I think I heard a car approaching. You should open the door before Merida kicks it in at these delectable smells."

"You're… probably right," Anna winced, imagining Elsa's reaction at a permanently damaged front door. As she was passing through the main corridor, she could already hear the tiny fist banging on the front door, louder than one might think possible.

Upon opening the door, Anna found both Merida and Hans, the latter in the middle of an admonishment on the proper etiquette of the former. Merida didn't seem fazed as she breezed past Anna and followed her nose towards the kitchen – only to get side-tracked by Rapunzel, and lured into the dining room.

Once everyone was seated, Elsa magically appeared with the food-laden plates, gently placed them on the table. "Hello, everyone. I'm glad you could all make it," she smiled, being every bit the perfect host Anna had expected her to be. "I figured that it was probably time for Anna's girlfriend to meet her friends – even if her employer already knew her fellow interns," she continued.

As everyone was scooping food onto their plates, Eugene smiled mischievously. "Well, as a tradition, we should start by telling you never to take Anna to the zoo with you," he said, causing chuckles from everyone around the table, except for Anna, who groaned loudly.

"Not this again…"

"This," Elsa smirked, "sounds like a story I need to hear."

"Oh, it certainly is," Rapunzel nodded. "The pork is delicious, by the way."

"Thank you," Elsa smiled courteously, before returning her attention to Eugene. "So, the zoo?"

"Right. We went there during a field trip in elementary school. Halfway through the day, our chaperones discovered we were one student short. It didn't take long to figure out what happened – the entire zoo was abuzz with stories about a little redheaded girl causing amok all over the place. She'd managed to release some of the animals in the petting zoo, somehow, and half the staff was chasing after goats and donkeys and ponies, while Anna was happily trying to find a way into the monkey-habitat."

"Why do we always share embarrassing stories about me?" Anna groaned, taking another bite from her meal.

"Because you are the most easily embarrassed person around, lass," Merida grumbled, mouth full with food, making it hard to make out the words.

"Don't worry, Anna," Elsa said with a fond shake of her head. "I'll save you by changing the subject. How are you all finding your internships?"

Everyone immediately brightened, hastening to provide an answer, which was pretty much a dead give-away as to how they felt about it.

"It's an amazing opportunity, and we are learning _so_ much from it," Rapunzel beamed.

"It's wicked awesome!" Merida nearly-yelled, slamming her fist onto the table for good measure.

"The pay is a very nice additional bonus as well," Hans replied, smiling his signature smile.

Eugene looked sheepish for a moment. "Everything they said, really," he eventually muttered with a shrug, stuffing more food into his mouth.

"That is good to hear. I've heard nothing but positive things from your supervisors, too. Several have urged me to hire you as soon as you graduate."

"Really? We could come and work for Arendelle when we're done with college?" Merida asked, forgetting to close her mouth afterwards and getting a gentle kick under the table to remind her.

"I would think so, yes," Elsa replied instantly. "I can't give any guarantees for the future, of course. For all we know we might be bankrupt by the time you graduate, but-"

"I've seen the books," Eugene interrupted. "There's no way you're going bankrupt anytime soon. Your company's revenue almost tripled since you took over. The amount of contract-offers has more than doubled. Under your father's leadership, Arendelle Corporation was doing great. Under yours, it practically monopolized architecture."

"That's a bit of an overstatement," Elsa smirked, "but thank you, nonetheless. It's true that business has been good. You can't ever take that for granted, though."

"And that attitude," Rapunzel smiled, "is probably why Arendelle Corp is doing as well as it is."

Elsa looked down at her plate, blushing under all the positive attention, before composing herself again. Anna thought it was an utterly adorable thing to bear witness to, and it really made her want to kiss the blonde senseless.

"Say," the blonde suddenly piped, "is Weselton still teaching architectural history?"

"You know Weaseltown?" Hans smirked.

"I'm not _that_ old," Elsa glared in response. "And he's been teaching since… forever, I think."

The majority of dinner went by pleasantly and relatively politely – a few minor hiccups, courtesy of either Merida or Eugene, which were mostly ignored. There were a fair share of childhood stories that passed around the table, and throughout dinner, Anna learned several interesting facts about Elsa's childhood – only child, grown up _very_ sheltered, only having books and drawings as her friends.

It was already quite late – and dinner was long over – when Rapunzel announced that they'd be leaving. Eugene, having arrived with Rapunzel, made no objection, although Merida grumbled something about not having finished her beer, and Hans made a comment about Rapunzel not being his boss.

A single glare from the tiny brunette shut them both up, and Anna shot Rapunzel a grateful look as the two started their preparations. Not ten minutes later, she and Elsa had the house to themselves again, and while Anna loved her friends to bits, she was sort of happy that it was just the two of them again.

"Well, I think that went… well. Right?" Elsa asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Els. It went great," Anna smiled, wrapping the blonde up in a hug. "You were great. They absolutely loved you. I do too, though. Just so you know."

"That is always very good to know," the blonde murmured against Anna's shoulder, sinking into the embrace. "They're quite an exhausting bunch, though, aren't they?"

"They actually behaved incredibly well today. You should see them during Eugene's birthday parties…"

"I'm not sure I'm quite up for that, yet…"

"I'm pretty sure you're not," Anna chuckled. "I certainly am not."

Elsa hugged Anna even closer, and the redhead audibly gulped as she felt their bodies pressing flush against each other. She couldn't possibly deny that it was an amazing feeling – even with all these unnecessary layers between them – but she would also be lying if she said it didn't spur the craving for… more.

Still, she wasn't exactly certain where they were at in their relationship. And making the wrong move, she knew from movies and the internet, could have relationship-ending results. So, she kept her hands firmly where they were, safely around Elsa's waist, not even close to any dangerous areas.

The blonde seemed to have different ideas, though, her hands slowly but surely sliding downwards, eventually landing on her ass, where they gave a firm but soft squeeze. "These jeans really flatter your… assets," Anne felt murmured against her neck.

She couldn't help but smirk as she felt the blonde's hands roving over her behind, finally allowing her hands to do some exploring of their own, mirroring Elsa's hands and ending up grasping at the blonde's slacks. "I'm confident that my assets would be ever more flattered _without_ the jeans," she whispered breathily, before flicking her tongue over the blonde's earlobe.

"I think you might be on to something, my dear. I fully intend to find out now, though. Objections?"

"Not a single one," Anna replied, answer turning into a whine as Elsa moved away from her.

The lack of contact did not last all that long, however. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were already entangled again, hands exploring each other's bodies as their tongues explored the others' mouths.

"At this rate," Anna gasped in-between kisses, "we'll never reach the bedroom."

"I'm not complaining," Elsa murmured against her collarbone. "Although for everything I'm planning to do with you, I think the bed might be more comfortable than the stairs…"

It took a serious effort to untangle herself from Elsa, but Anna figured it would only grow more difficult as time went on, so better now than later. Besides, Elsa was right. Making out on the stairs was fine. Having sex? Not so much.

She dashed up the stairs, knowing fully-well that Elsa was probably hardly a step behind her, and made a beeline for Elsa's bedroom. Stopping at the side of the bed, she was mildly surprised to be knocked over, landing on her back, and Elsa landing on top of her with a loud 'oompf.'

"Someone's impatient," she smirked up at Elsa, who was already looking down at her as if she were a piece of chocolate to be devoured.

"I don't think anyone could fault me for that," Elsa responded cheekily, hands roving down Anna's side, reaching the hem of her shirt, and attempting to pull it upwards. Anna lifted herself on her shoulders to make it a little easier, lifting her arms overhead when necessary, and watching her shirt sail through the room – before making sure Elsa's shirt followed suit.

Staring up at the expanse of pale skin, Anna couldn't help the smile on her face. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked coyly, gently running her hands over the edge of Elsa's bra.

"I did not want to be pushy," Elsa smiled shyly, hands slowly trailing lazy patterns over Anna's stomach, causing her to squirm.

"Neither did I. Right now, though, I really do want you to be pushy," Anna responded breathily, releasing a long groan as Elsa's tongue started lavishing her pulse point.

Deftly unbuttoning Anna's jeans with one hand and unsnapping her bra with the other, Elsa placed a soft kiss on the tip of the redhead's nose. "Pushy, hm? I think I can do that…"

There was a short moment of awkwardness while the two women where shimmying out of their pants at the quickest pace they could manage, after which they immediately ended up back on the bed, legs entangled, and Anna's hand reaching out to remove Elsa's bra as well.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful you were," the redhead mused out loud as her hands cupped the now bared breasts, revelling at Elsa's shivering moan. It sounded like Elsa was about to offer a response, but it died in a low keen as Anna wrapped her mouth around a stiffening nipple, suckling gently.

The sensation of Elsa's scratching nails on her scalp and shoulder were very welcome. The feeling of her chilly hands massaging her breasts a moment later even more so. The gentle tweaking of her nipples? Well, that just intensified the ache between her legs tenfold.

And apparently, her squirming gave it away, because Elsa grinned impishly, repeating the motion while gently biting down on her pulse point – which drew a long moan from Anna's throat that would have escaped even if she had bothered to keep it in. Which she really hadn't.

To her slight despair, however, it didn't seem like Elsa was planning to grant her any relief any time soon. But, she figured, two could play at that game. Anna flicked her tongue over one of Elsa's nipples, carefully pinching the other one and smiling to herself as Elsa groaned into the pillow beside her head, hands stilling their movements for a moment.

Sliding her hands down Elsa's back and firmly grasping her ass, Anna squeezed gently, after which she hooked her thumbs underneath the panties – the only articles of clothing the both of them were still wearing – and softly started pulling them down. Elsa conveniently lifted her hips to facilitate her, before urging Anna to do the same.

The panties quickly joined the rest of their clothes on the floor, somewhere behind them, or beside them. Anna had more important matters to occupy her attention right now. Elsa was on top of her – naked. No one would blame her for not noticing where the panties landed.

Elsa was still happily teasing her nipples, but Anna found it practically impossible to be patient and play games, immediately sliding her hand downwards, in between Elsa's legs, and discovering the warm wetness there.

"Impatient little thing, aren't you?" Elsa asked, the end of the question becoming fractured as Anna pointer finger slid through her wet folds.

Smiling mischievously, Anna withdrew her hand, leering at Elsa as she brought it to her mouth and ran her tongue over it. The taste was amazing, and the look in Elsa's eyes made the whole scene even better. Anna could have sworn she saw the blonde's pupils dilate even further than they already had.

Making use of the blonde's flustered state, Anna effortlessly switched their positions, leaving her straddling Elsa's hips instead of the other way around. Quickly placing her hands on Elsa's breasts again, she leant forward to whisper into her ear.

"Good lord, Els. You're _so_ wet… I can't help but be flattered."

Elsa's only response was a moan, followed by a hand sliding between the redhead's legs and stroking her folds teasingly. "Seems like you're not faring much better," Elsa said, eyes closed and head tilted back as Anna wrapped her lips around a taut nipple again.

Anna was surprised to feel Elsa catching her wrist and trying to guide her hand between her legs. Rather than acquiesce, she shook her hand free again, causing a soft whimper from the blonde. "Anna, please…"

The redhead felt her lips curling into a crooked smile. "Now who's being impatient?" she asked impishly. "But don't worry, I won't keep you waiting… I'm quite dying to taste you…"

Before the words had a chance to sink into Elsa's mind, Anna had already repositioned herself with her face between Elsa's legs, running her flat tongue from the blonde's entrance all the way up to her clit. Elsa's sudden intake of breath was accompanied by an appreciative murmur from Anna, even if she wasn't quite aware of it herself.

She repeated the same motion several times, smiling to herself as she heard Elsa softly cursing under her breath. When she felt the blonde's fingers tangling in her hair, she decided to speed things up a little, pressing two fingers into her while her tongue circled around – occasionally over – Elsa's clit.

She had expected that this would bring Elsa's climax around quite quickly. She hadn't expected it to be in less than a minute, though. Truthfully, she just hoped Elsa would be up for another round. This was way too good to stop already.

Climbing up, Anna was pleasantly surprised when Elsa pulled her into a frantic kiss, turning to lay on top of her again. As soon as they parted for breath, she beamed up at her. "Ready for round two?" she asked hopefully, quirking an eyebrow.

Elsa mirrored the motion, tilted smile on her lips that looked way too adorable to be legal. "Round two? I was not aware we were done with round one yet… It hardly seems fair you'd get to taste me, but not the other way around. Or that I would get to feel _that_ , but not you…"

"A girl can't argue with that," Anna nodded seriously, before both erupting into giggles.

The giggles didn't last very long, mind you.

They had… more important business to attend to…


	6. Chapter 6

**Abandoned? Methinks not. In all seriousness, though: this story's original brain-mommy and I had to have some very long talks about where we wanted to go with the fic, and we were in some disagreement on it for quite some time. Adding to that my general lack of inspiration, my other stories, writer's block, technical issues, and the fact that I have an actual life too, I never actually got round to working on this again.**

 **Nevertheless, I once (or twice, or thrice) promised that I'd never abandon any of my stories, and that promise certainly still stands. We've plotted the remainder of this fic now, and I'll be trying to get it finished as soon as I can (without neglecting my other stories, me hopes...)**

* * *

Anna sighed as she rubbed the sting out of her eyes. Despite the exhaustion, the stinging eyes, and the pain in her back, she felt a smile creeping onto her face. She watched around the room, taking in the state of her friends. Even Rapunzel looked fatigued – something Anna was fairly certain she – nor anyone else – had ever seen before.

They had been overly optimistic, that much was certain. When they'd presented their plans to the client – now over two weeks ago – they had been sure they'd be happy with everything they had suggested and would just sign off on it.

They hadn't, of course.

They had appreciated the general idea, but trampled on nearly every detail Anna and her team had suggested. They had taken it in stride, heads held high, and offered amendments. Only to have those denied as well, time and time again.

In a state of near desperation, she had turned to Elsa, asking her what the heck they had been doing wrong. Much to her dismay, Elsa had actually chuckled in response. Then, she had calmly explained to Anna that this was exactly why she had entrusted the interns with a project of their own.

Elsa had wanted them to experience the truth for themselves. It just wasn't realistic to expect getting things right on the first – or even the second – try. It took many meetings, discussions, and amendments to ensure the designed building would be everything the client wanted.

And so they had gotten back to work, diligently offering more suggestions, making alterations left and right, and eventually even starting over entirely, having lost their focus so badly that they simply couldn't continue to build on what they had already established.

But now, she felt, they were actually getting close to the end of it all. She was fairly certain that their clients would be happy soon, and _finally_ approve their designs. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Anna looked away from her laptop's screen. "Merida, did you have a chance to look at those window placements yet?"

"Aye," the other redhead groused in return. "I s'pose they were right 'bout that. I shuffled them round a bit, so I think it's all good now."

"Good, good," Anna murmured, nodding slowly and looking over at Flynn. "And the wiring?"

Anna heard the full thud of a head connecting with a table and couldn't supress the chuckle flying from her lips. "That bad?"

The response was mostly unintelligible, but by now Anna had gotten used to that as well. "Will you get it finished before the next meeting?"

After a few moments of thought, Eugene shrugged. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises."

Anna gave a firm nod. "That's good enough. Can't do more than your best, right?" she replied as cheerfully as she could, pushing the lid of her laptop closed. "We still have a few days, so don't stress yourselves too much, okay? If you guys need anything, I'll be in Elsa's office."

There was some half-hearted murmuring of goodbyes and some weak waving, but Anna hardly paid attention, one foot already out of the door. The walk to her girlfriend's office was a short one, and as soon as she stepped into the room and the blonde looked up, Anna felt her lips stretching into a true and heartfelt smile. "Hey there."

"Hey yourself," Elsa countered with a matching smile. "How's the project coming along?"

Anna dropped herself onto the chair in front of her little workstation, rearranging some of the papers into neater stacks. "Better, now. Getting out of that little funk really helped things along again."

"We all have our ups and down," Elsa responded with a nod, closing the folder on her desk. "Important thing is to work through it, like you guys did."

Anna grimaced. "Yeah, so I've noticed… I guess that's the side of the job you never get to see from the outside, huh?"

"I'm pretty sure it's that way for all jobs, though," Elsa mused, turning to fetch something from one of the shelves behind her. "Do you think you could go downstairs and check up on those new designs for the municipal buildings? I'd like to know if things are moving along down there as well."

"Sure," Anna chirped, happy to be away from the paperwork for a moment. "I'll head straight down."

"Thank you, Anna," Elsa said with a loving smile, before returning her attention to the papers on her desk.

* * *

Anna smiled as she walked around the various tables, sketches and blueprints scattered throughout the entire room – which consisted of nearly the entire floor. The lead of the project had taken her on a quick tour of their works, showing her just how far each of the projects had advanced since the last time she and Elsa had been by.

She mentally filed away all the information they gave her, being sure the relay all the important bits to Elsa as soon as she got back upstairs. She was happy to see that some of their earlier concerns had been addressed, and the projects were actually slightly ahead of schedule.

"Seems to me you people have everything handled down here," she smiled at the lead architect, who gave her a kind and respectful smile in return as he dipped his head. As she turned around and headed towards the elevator, her path was suddenly cut off by two of the younger members of the team.

"Hey there, Miss Anderson," one of them smiled in a – what Anna figured was supposed to be charming – manner. "Mind if we ask a quick question?"

"Sure," Anna replied cheerfully, nearly bouncing on her heels. "Fire away."

"Is it true that you and Miss Arendelle… you know…" the man trailed off, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. That, apparently, got his companion to roll his eyes.

"You can't say the word 'sex' Bill? Sheesh. Anyway, Miss Anderson, we heard you and Miss Arendelle were getting it on together, and we were wondering if it were true, is all."

Anna felt the panic rising up within her like a great tidal wave, washing away the common sense she usually prided herself on. A bad taste started to tickle the back of her throat while her terrified mind raced around in circles, attempting to find a response that would be innocent enough to take away the suggestions of her and Elsa sleeping together, without being a bold-faced lie at the same time.

"Honestly," she started, "I don't think my private life, or El- Miss Arendelle's for that matter, are any business of yours."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized that was the most guilty response she could have given – aside from a plain and simple 'yes.' Seeing the amused twinkle in the guys' eyes and their matching grins, Anna realized that, within hours, the entire company would think that she had only gotten the much-coveted internship because Elsa had taken a shine to her.

And she _knew_ that wasn't true. But, of course, she couldn't expect others to know that as she did.

"Now," she continued with a huff, "if you'd excuse me, I have a lot of work left to do."

The men immediately parted to get out of her way, and Anna made her way to the elevator in something that was just a little short of a run, but certainly more than a normal walk. Once the doors closed, she pressed her thumb against the button for the top floor seven times in rapid succession, before relenting and pacing in small circles while she waited for the elevator to reach its destination.

As soon as the doors opened again, she practically flew out of the elevator and stormed towards Elsa's office, only to find the blonde missing from her usual perch behind the desk. Her mind still reeling with the implications of the recent revelation, Anna whirled around and stormed into the nearby room.

"Which of you was it?!" she practically yelled, glaring at her friends – all of whom were looking at her with a surprised and mildly worried countenance.

"Which of us… was what?" Hans asked slowly, looking as if he missed the crucial piece of a puzzle.

"You know," Anna elaborated, "about Elsa and me?"

They all shook their heads, winding Anna up even more. "Then how come people _know_?"

Rapunzel carefully got up from her chair and walked over to Anna, taking one of her hands in her own. "Anna, sweetie, people have been talking about it for a while now. Esmeralda, from legal, came to me a few days ago and asked whether I knew if it was true or not. I didn't tell her, but she already suspected."

Hans leaned back in his chair. "I heard Eric from accounting talking about you two with that red-haired babe from err, well, wherever she works."

"It's Ariel, from Public Relations," Merida helpfully supplied, not looking up, "and she told Jasmine, too."

Sinking onto one of the empty seats, Anna blinked owlishly. "But if none of you told them… then how…?"

Rapunzel smiled softly. "Did you never consider the fact that people can actually _see_ the way you and Elsa look at each other?"

Eugene turned his chair towards them as well. "Or the fact that you two leave together practically every day?"

"And without fail come in at the same time too," Merida added, still not looking up from her work.

Anna sighed deeply, sounding even more defeated than before. "Well, fu-"

"Something the matter?" Elsa's voice suddenly chimed from behind them, causing Anna to stop mid-curse and jump up from her seat.

"We need to talk," she murmured, grabbing the blonde by her arm and practically dragging her into her office. Once they were inside, and alone, Anna found that she had a hard time telling the blonde what was on her mind, though.

"Anna, what is going on? You're… worrying me a little."

Taking in a deep breath, Anna tried to steady her beating heart a little. "People know," she eventually blurted out, causing Elsa to raise a singly, dainty eyebrow.

"People know _what_ , exactly?"

"About _us_ ," Anna continued, managing to sound exasperated and terrified at the same time.

Elsa merely looked pensive for a moment, sitting down on the corner of her desk. "Oh. Okay," she eventually responded with a tiny shrug.

"Okay? Okay?! How is that _okay_?" Anna asked, sounding utterly panicked now.

"Well," Elsa started calmly. "It's not like we could have kept it a secret forever, is it? You seem a lot more affected by this than I thought you would be. Do you now want people to know about us?"

"What I don't want is for people to think I got this internship just because I've slept with you," Anna muttered, sitting down next to Elsa. "How will they ever respect me like that? I mean-"

"Anna," the blonde interrupted, "you've shown that you have plenty of talent to deserve this internship, whether you're romantically involved with me or not. I doubt people will think so lowly of you because of this. Workplace romances happen all the time, you know that, right?"

Feeling Elsa's arm wrapped around her shoulder, Anna took in another deep breath, letting it escape slowly. "Perhaps you're right, and maybe I'm overreacting a little."

"There's no 'maybe' about that, Anna," Elsa chuckled. "You're definitely overreacting a little. Come on, let's go and have lunch."

To Anna's immense surprise, Elsa did not lead them out of the Arendelle Corp. building and towards one of their many favourite lunch spots. Instead, she steered them to the right, casually sauntering into the company's own cantina.

To Anna's even more immense surprise, the blonde casually slipped their hands together as they walked in, nearly giving the redhead a heart attack in the process.

"What are you doing?" Anna practically hissed.

"Well, since people already suspect, we might as well just make sure they know. That way, they can stop rumouring about it behind our backs, and we'll prevent weird stories from cropping up."

For a few moments, Anna felt as if every set of eyes in the massive cantina turned their way and burned holes in their joined hands – even if she realized most people were just shooting them a fleeting glance, often accompanied by a smile, before continuing their conversations.

After they had gotten their food and found a spot to enjoy their lunch in relative peace, Anna started feeling a little more comfortable. No one had given her any trouble, or even looked at her as if they were planning to do so. She wanted to tell Elsa, but was interrupted by a flurry of red – real _red_ , not her own strawberry blonde – swooping in and landing in the seat opposite from them.

"Elsa. Long time no see," the stranger chimed pleasantly, eyeing the two of them.

"Ariel, good to see you," Elsa smiled in return. "How's PR treating you?"

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old," the woman smiled, waving her hand dismissively. "But you and I need to have a serious talk."

"Oh, we do?" Elsa murmured with feigned surprise.

Ariel nodded sagely. "Indeed we do. As your self-proclaimed best friend, I think you could have come to me and told me about this lovely young lady before I had to hear it from someone else. From _Eric_ of all people. You know how out-of-touch he is with gossip."

Elsa smiled politely, putting her food down for a moment. "Well, it's a relatively new development, and I didn't want to jinx anything. It's not like I deliberately kept it a secret, though."

"I see," Ariel murmured, her eyes moving from Elsa to Anna and back several times. "You two make an adorable couple, you know? I heard the boys from security talking about how hot it would be to watch the two of you-"

"O-kay," Elsa interrupted with heavy emphasis. "That's quite enough out of you, Miss Triton. I do not want to know what the security boys talk about during their breaks."

"In all fairness, it wasn't during their break," the redhead replied cheekily, shooting the blushing Anna a wink before dashing off.

During the remainder of their lunch, several more people walked by them, offering kind words and friendly smiles. By the time Elsa and Anna stepped back into the elevator, the intern had all but forgotten her past worries.

"Elsa… Thanks for that."

"You're very welcome," Elsa murmured, placing a peck on Anna's lips just as the elevator doors slid open again.

The look on the security guard's face made Anna just the tiniest bit less happy about their relationship being out in the open now. But only the tiniest bit.

* * *

 **I know it's short, and not much, and probably not even fun or good or whatever. But it had to be written, because my slave-driving friend said so. Actually, slave-driving friendS. There were two parties involved. They're both really cool, and pretty much the reason I still write, instead of being the lazy slob I want to be. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello people! Short notice: this fic was supposed to have several more chapters, but I made a little change to my planning. Instead, after this chapter, there will be an epilogue, more or less in the same style as the one I did for** _ **Out of the Ashes**_ **, featuring several time-skips and rounding it all off nicely. I hope. Enjoy this chapter, then!**

* * *

"Um… Elsa?"

The blonde looked up from her work at the sound of Olaf's voice, unusually wavering. "Yes?"

"There's someone asking for you at the front desk," Olaf supplied with a tilted half-smile.

A quick glance at the calendar on her desktop revealed no further appointments for the remainder of the day, causing Elsa's brow to furrow in confusion. "Really? I don't have anything written down. Did they have an appointment?"

"Well… no," Olaf hedged. "They're kind of not clients of ours?"

"Well then, who _are_ they?" Elsa asked, annoyance creeping into her voice at the interruption of her work.

"I think…" Olaf started, pausing for a moment. "Well, Chloe said they were Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, so I figure they are-"

"Anna's parents?" Elsa interrupted, eyebrows shooting upwards. "Anna's still in the building right? She hasn't been in an accident of some sort?"

"Last I heard she was sitting in on a meeting with Mr. Oaken," Olaf shrugged. "I doubt it's something like that."

Elsa rubbed her forehead for a moment, eyes turning towards the ceiling. "Please tell Chloe to show them up," she eventually murmured, turning her attention back to the plans in front of her as Olaf made his way back to his own desk.

Getting from the lobby to the top-floor offices took a bit of time, which the blonde used to finish off the bit of paperwork remaining on her desk. She considered calling Anna back up, figuring her parents were probably here to see her, but before she had a chance to do so, she already heard the elevator ping, closely followed by Chloe's animated chattering.

"Hey Olaf! Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are here to see Ms. Arendelle. Should I just leave them here or…?"

"I'll take it from here, Chloe, thanks," she heard Olaf respond with a chuckle. "This way, please. Ms. Arendelle is expecting you."

" _Expecting_ is a bit of an overstatement," Elsa chuckled as they entered her office, holding out her hand to introduce herself. "Elsa Arendelle, pleasure to meet you."

"John Anderson," the man introduced himself. "This is my wife Helen. We're Anna's parents."

"Please, have a seat," Elsa smiled, gesturing at the seats in front of her desk. "I'm afraid Anna's still in a meeting, but she shouldn't be much longer."

"Oh, we were actually hoping to talk to you," Anna's mother smiled pleasantly.

"Oh- I mean, you were?" Elsa asked in return, clearly confused. As far as she knew, Anna hadn't told her parents about their relationship yet. The topic had come up once or twice, and Anna had insisted on telling them when they would come to visit her from out of town, rather than over the phone.

"Yes," her father now said with a small laugh. "Let me just start by thanking you for presenting Anna with this incredible opportunity to further her career. She was absolutely over the moon when she told us about this internship, and everything it could mean for her future."

"Anna has a remarkably sharp mind," Elsa smiled easily, knowing it to be true. "She has a bright future ahead of her, with or without this internship."

"That's very good to hear," Elsa's mother smiled happily. "But you must be a busy woman, so we best get to the point. Anna called us earlier today to invite us over – we live a few hours north of here, you see – to take us out to dinner and introduce us to her new girlfriend."

Elsa felt her eyes growing a little wider at that, but tried to reign her reaction in as much as possible. Her eyes quickly flicked over to her calendar again, but there were certainly no dinner plans written in there. "I see," she murmured in response.

"And we were sort of hoping that we could, maybe, if it's not too much trouble, take Anna out for some quality time before then. But of course-"

"Elsa, I have the progress report on the Oaken Resort, would you like me to- Mom? Dad?"

Anna stood frozen, hand still resting on the doorknob, eyes shooting to and fro between her parents. "What are you two doing here?"

Elsa felt a smile creeping onto her face. "They came to see if you could get a few hours off."

"What?!" Anna asked – a little more loudly than strictly necessary – "Why are you even in town? I'm sure I said I'd text you. Didn't I?"

"Yes, love," her mother answered patiently. "But we just wanted to spend some time with you, regardless of whether tonight's plans would go through or not."

"In our defense," her father added, "we did not intend to be this early. Traffic was light, which cut our estimated travel time almost in half."

"And you know how your father drives when the road's open, dear. I'm lucky to be alive," her mother continued, nodding sagely.

"You can leave that report here for me to go over, Anna," Elsa smiled, taking the paper from the redhead. "You can have the rest of the day to spend with your parents."

"I don't have to-"

"It's fine, Anna. Today's a slow day anyways. Besides, your mother just told me you plan to take them out to dinner to introduce them to your girlfriend. I imagine you would be too distracted and nervous to get a lot of work done anyway, right?"

Anna looked puzzled for a moment, after which her eyes grew wide and her mouth took on a nearly-perfect 'o'-shape. "Uh, yeah, right. I mean, no- I wouldn't. But since you're giving me the afternoon off, I'll just um… Mom, dad, come on," she sighed eventually, shaking her head at her own rambling.

"Aren't you going to thank her, dear?" Anna's father asked with raised eyebrows.

"No need," Anna grumbled, practically pulling her parents out of the office.

"That's not how we've raised you, Anna," her mother admonished, pushing Anna back into the office.

The redhead sighed theatrically. "Thank you for giving me the afternoon off, _Elsa_ ," she said with narrowed eyes.

"You're very welcome, _Anna_ ," the blonde replied with a sweet smile. "Now go on, shoo!"

Anna waited until they were outside before turning around and facing her parents. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"We wanted to see where you work," her mother responded innocently.

"I don't _work_ here, mom. I _intern_ here."

"Well, Miss Arendelle told us you're doing very well," her father nodded proudly. "Perhaps your internship will lead into a job opportunity."

"So, where are we having dinner tonight?" her mother suddenly asked, changing the topic.

Anna groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Mom! I told you I hadn't discussed it yet. Which is why I told you I would _text_ you when I knew more."

"I know, I know," her mother nodded. "Why don't you give her a quick call, and if she's not available, we'll do it some other time and just have a nice night with the three of us."

After grumbling some form of agreement, Anna turned away from her parents, selecting Elsa's name from her contact list. Unsurprisingly, the phone was answered almost immediately.

"Hey," Anna muttered, a smile automatically forming on her face. "How's your day?"

"Oh, you know," Elsa answered casually. "Just the usual. Just had an unexpected meeting, but my favourite intern dragged them out of my office."

"Well, if it's not too much trouble, she'd like to have dinner with you tonight, so you can meet her parents…"

"Really?" Elsa asked with mock-surprise. "That sounds great. Though, next time, maybe ask me before you invite your parents," she continued with a chuckle.

Anna hummed, watching her parents as they looked at her with patient smiled. "They arrived a little earlier than expected. And I _did_ tell them to wait until I gave the go-ahead."

"Alright, alright. So, what time, and how should I dress?"

"I have absolutely no idea. I mean, I want to go somewhere fancy, but not too fancy, you know?"

"Fancy but not too fancy. I think I might know a place. How about I see if I can get us a reservation, and text you the details?"

"That would be amazing," Anna breathed with a smile.

"Alright then. Also, how awkward is tonight going to be when they see me?"

"Very," Anna hummed, "but we'll survive."

"Oh, I do hope so," Elsa's sass-filled voice responded. "I have big plans for you."

"Yeah. Okay. Bye now," Anna laughed, disconnecting the call and putting her phone away again.

"So," her mother said as she turned back to them. "Where to?"

"That depends on where you parked your car," Anna smiled. "Dinner tonight's a go. I don't know where we're going yet, or what time exactly. We'll just have to wait for the text with the details."

As her father opened the door of the car for her, he suddenly frowned. "Honey, shouldn't you get your own car? We can just follow you, then."

"Oh, my car isn't here," Anna answered without thinking.

"It's not? Then how did you get here?"

"Um. I took the… bus?"

* * *

Anna smiled as her parents stopped dead in their tracks, staring up at the building they were about to enter. Had she not seen it before, Anna too would have been staring at the dome-shaped structure, half of which consisted entirely out of glass, looking out over the city below them.

"Welcome to _La Bulle_ ," one of the hostesses smiled. "Can I take your coats?"

Making use of the fact that her parents were momentarily distracted, Anna informed the hostess of their reservation, which was on Elsa's name. The woman nodded with an even larger smile, leading them through the restaurant towards the far end.

A table for four had been prepared, right next to the glass wall, offering a majestic view of the city, which was starting to be illuminated by hundreds of little lights. From here, Anna could see the Arendelle building, some of its windows still lit.

The hostess informed them that she'd return when their final companion had arrived, before taking her leave with a dip of her head. Anna's parents were still staring out of the window, marvelling at the view in front of them.

Anna herself was apparently also lost in the view for a moment, not having noticed the new arrival at their table. "Hello." She did, of course, immediately recognize that voice.

Before she could respond, her father had turned his head. "Miss Arendelle? What a coincidence meeting you here."

Anna winced as Elsa's polite smile grew a little wider. "Yeah, not really. Mom, dad, this is Elsa. Elsa, these are… well, you already know."

"You're… You two are… Well, that's unexpected," Anna's mother stuttered, before starting to laugh.

Elsa smiled apologetically as she shook their hands. "I would have said something earlier, but it seemed wrong to do so without Anna present, and as I hadn't counted on you visiting my office… Well, suffice to say I wasn't quite sure what to do."

"Which is a nice change of pace," Anna smiled cheekily, giving Elsa a quick peck. "Because she always knows what to do."

The blonde took her seat as the hostess returned to take their drink orders. The woman assured them that their drinks would be delivered to them as quickly as possible, bid them a pleasant dinner, and left them to their own conversations.

"So," Anna's father started. "Normally, I'd ask how you two met… But that seems pretty obvious now, doesn't it?"

Anna noticed Elsa's cheeks colouring red, no doubt brought on by the memory of their first meeting. To prevent everyone from a lot of embarrassment, she decided to speak up before she could. "We actually met when Elsa gave a guest lecture for one of my courses."

Elsa recovered quickly, nodding along to Anna's words. "One of my employees was supposed to give the lecture, but due to a few mistakes in his work, he was too busy. Rather than calling it off, I decided I'd stand in for him. Anna was remarkably astute in answering the questions I asked."

"Because I'm brilliant," Anna supplied with a cheeky grin.

"And very modest, I'm sure," her mother countered drolly, before turning her attention out of the window again. "This view is amazing. It can't have been easy to get reservations on such short notice."

Elsa shrugged with a polite smile. "This building was one of my first projects, and the owners and I stayed in contact. They are always happy to help me out."

"So, can you tell us what's good here?" Anna's father asked as he opened the menu.

"I can honestly say that everything on the menu is good, sir," Elsa smiled as she picked up her own menu as well.

There was an easy silence as they all pored over the list of available dishes, occasionally remarking on something they thought to be particularly delicious – or the contrary. When Anna put down her menu, being the last to make her decision, the waiter seemed to magically appear beside their table to take their orders.

"So, Elsa…" Anna's mother started as soon as they were alone again. "Judging by the amount of clothes – or lack thereof, really – in Anna's apartment, I'm guessing the two of you are spending a lot of time together?"

"Mom!" Anna scolded in a harsh whisper.

"Oh, hush dear. All I'm saying is that you seem to have left an awful lot of clothes at her place, is all. There's nothing wrong with you staying over there. You're both young and beautiful, and you both have urges. All natural. Nothing your father and I-"

"Okay!" Anna interrupted loudly. "That's more information than I need to hear now. Or ever. Why do you take such pleasure in embarrassing me?"

Elsa snickered, before turning her attention towards the older woman. "Yes, Anna has been spending the majority of the nights at my place as of late. We have the habit of taking our work home, and continuing in my study after dinner."

"Tell us about your work, dear," Anna's father commented pleasantly. "It's not often we get the chance to talk to the CEO of a major corporation like yours."

"It's not all that glamorous, I assure you," Elsa responded. "I mostly go over other people's work to see if it is all up to standards. Whenever new clients approach us, I meet with them to discuss their wishes, before forming a team to take on the assignment. It has been a while since I actually designed a building myself, to be honest."

"And Anna accompanies you during all these tasks, if I understand correctly? That must be very educative."

"I like to think so, yes," Elsa smiled. "Of course, Anna also gets to work on a few projects of her own, like an actual architect should."

The conversation about work continued for a little while longer, until it was interrupted by the arrival of their food. Anna attacked her plate with the fervour of a starving animal, earning herself a reproachful – albeit ineffective – look from her mother.

Conversation topics shifted from Elsa's work to that of Anna's parents, before moving on to favourite pastimes, television shows and movies, the possibility of owning pets in the future, and – Elsa's favourite – embarrassing childhood stories.

It wasn't long before they all emptied their plates. The suggestion of having dessert was politely declined, everyone feeling satisfied with the fillings of their stomachs. When they stepped outside, into the cool night air, Anna's parents turned towards them.

"Well then, younglings. I suppose this is goodbye," Anna's father said with a congenial smile.

"If you want, I have a guestroom you could use?" Elsa offered.

"No, no," Anna's mother immediately responded, waving her hand through the air. "We wouldn't want to be a bother, and heavens know you two don't need us loitering around during your nightly activities."

"Mom!" Anna practically shouted. "What did I say about-"

"Regardless," her mother continued as if nothing had happened. "We really should be getting back home. I have an early shift tomorrow, and I'm sure your father can barely wait to mow the lawn."

"Very well. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, my dear. Likewise," Anna's father smiled as he shook Elsa's hand, before wrapping his daughter into a tight hug. "Hold on to this one, Anna. She's a keeper."

"Oh, I know, dad."

"Do come and visit us sometime soon," her mother smiled as she wrapped the two of them into a simultaneous hug. "If you can get away from business for a little while, of course."

"I'm sure we'll manage to find some time," Elsa smiled as they stepped apart again.

With happy waves and broad smiles, the pairs went their separate ways, Anna following Elsa to her car while her parents went back to their own. "Well, that was embarrassing," the redhead muttered under her breath.

"Only for you," Elsa laughed. "Your parents are lovely people."

"Yeah. I just wish they would lay off the childhood stories…"

"I can only imagine," Elsa chuckled in response. "Personally, I think the childhood stories were the highlight of the evening."

"Oh, sure you do," Anna groused as she dropped into the passenger seat. "Just great."

"Well…" Elsa mused out loud as she started the engine.

"Well what?"

Elsa's smile grew a little wider as she turned to look at the redhead.

"We could always make a new highlight of the evening…"

"At home, in the bedroom?" Anna supplied with a twinkle in her eyes.

"My thoughts exactly."

* * *

 **Short chapter. It gave me hell and it fought me tooth and nail every step of the way. I'm just glad it's finished, even if I don't feel like it's all that amazing or anything. I suppose it will have to suffice for now.**


	8. Epilogue

**Hi. Let me just start with saying the following: this epilogue was absolutely harrowing to write, and I'm sorry if it shows. It was supposed to contain a lot more, but I ended up forgetting the majority of my ideas for it, my collaboration partner was being a bit of a pain in the butt (no worries, I still love you) and I feel that, overall, I just got sort of fed up with the story over time? Oh wow, that makes me sound like a dick...**

* * *

"Another year has come to pass, and as so many years before this one, we once again say farewell to a group of young men and women who have grown so much that we have nothing left to teach them. Another batch of graduates for us to ship off into the real world, where they will continue to grow on their own. Unlike previous years, I will not be doing the honours this year. Instead, Miss Elsa Arendelle from Arendelle Corporation is here to hand out the oh-so coveted pieces of paper."

There was a polite applause from the gathered crowd, mostly consisting of proud family members and friends of the graduating architecture students. The blonde that strode onto the make-shift stage effortlessly captured the attention of the entire room, silence settling over the occupants again.

"Thank you, Mr. Weselton," Elsa said with a smile and a nod to the old man, now seated behind her. "I'm ever so honoured to be asked to hand out the certificates to this year's graduates. It seems so long ago now, but I myself walked these halls as a student, before taking over my father's company. I remember how disillusioning it was, going from these dusty hallways and long-winded lectures – no offense, Mr. Weselton – to being an actual architect, and discovering that you are, in fact, _not_ the best out there, and that you have so much left to learn."

The blonde paused for a moment, taking a sip from the glass of water standing on a small side table. "And that is what makes me want to pass a few bits of wisdom on to these budding minds. Yes, you will get a horribly mundane job, and yes, it will be boring and you will have to work your way to the top… But never forget your reasons for wanting this job in the first place, and never give up because it seems like it is too much work. Because, truth is, the work only really begins once you actually reach the top. Now, before I start handing out the certificates, it is my understanding that one of the students is supposed to say a few words as well."

The blonde took a seat next to Mr. Weselton as Anna made her way to the microphone, giving her predecessor a beaming smile, graduation robes swooshing behind her as she walked. "Thank you, Elsa," she started, before turning to the audience. "She's my girlfriend," she added in a conspiratorial whisper, her voice echoing through the room as the people chuckled. "More importantly, however, she's my boss. A few of my friends and I were lucky enough to be Arendelle Corp's first interns, being allowed to step into the shoes of an architect working for the biggest architecture company on this side of the continent. And Elsa is right: the _real_ learning doesn't start until you're actually _doing_ the job. I know my peers – each and everyone one of them – well enough to know that they are going to make it out there, whatever their aspirations are. The fact that they are here today is testament to their dedication – we've sat through plenty droning lectures in order to get here, after all."

Again, there was the din of laughter coming from the room. After a little while, Anna continued. "But really, I just want to say that, weird as it sounds, I'm going to miss this place. Not just my peers, but the teachers, the lecture halls, the library… For many of us, this has been the most major factor in our lives for the past few years, and moving on from that is scary as hell. Going out there and getting a job feels like being in a circus and being told to walk the tightrope without a safety net… But you can't make a spectacle if there isn't any risk, and don't we all just crave to be amazing circus freaks in our own right?"

There was a slight pause, laughter coming from the room while Anna looked at the piece of paper in front of her. "Hm, that sounded better when I wrote it down," she mumbled to herself, only increasing the laughter coming from the audience. "Well, I guess you all get the point. I should stop talking before I make more of a fool of myself. Anyway, basically, I just wanted to say I'll miss y'all, but you need to go out there and be awesome. Good luck!"

There was some chaos as the graduating students moved onto the stage and attempted to form an alphabetical line, assisted by some of the professors, who were brandishing the rollcall sheet as if their lives depended on it. Elsa couldn't help smiling fondly as she eyed Anna at the head of the line, rocking from the ball of her feet to her heels and back, twiddling her thumbs in front of her before giving an enthusiastic wave to her parents.

"Miss Arendelle, I believe we are ready," Mr. Weselton said in his usual squeaky voice.

"You believe?" Elsa chuckled. "One would think that, over the years, you'd have gotten a little better at this. Evidently, that's not the case."

"Yes, well, students. Rowdy bunch. Supposed to be super-intelligent as a species, but can't even order themselves alphabetically."

"Practice makes perfect," Elsa smiled as she walked to the front of the line, taking the scroll from the assistant that magically appeared beside her. "Well, Miss Anderson. Looks like you're all grown up now," Elsa smiled, handing her the piece of paper and shaking her hand."

"My, my Miss Arendelle," Anna said with a cheeky smile. "So formal today."

"Just you wait, Miss Anderson," Elsa replied with her usual professional-office voice, before moving on to the next student, shaking hands, handing over certificates and passing on congratulations.

With the formalities taken care off, the entire crowd smoothly moved in to the next room, which was considerably larger and featured drinks and snacks for the graduates and their guests. Anna immediately found her parents, who predictably showered her in hugs and kisses and congratulations and 'we're so proud of you's.

She was currently on the prowl to locate her girlfriend in the mass of bodies, hoping to get a good hug and kiss in as reward for the past few years of hard work. The usually so distinctive shine of platinum blonde hair was nowhere to be found, though, leaving the redhead to wonder where Elsa had run off to.

"Miss Anderson, if you'd follow me, please," a man in a sharp suit chimed behind her. Upon closer inspection, Anna vaguely recalled his face, meaning he probably worked at Arendelle Corp. Most of the faces she recognized nowadays worked there, after all.

"Of course. Where are we going?"

"Miss Arendelle has asked me to bring you to her for a short meeting."

Before she could ask any further questions, Anna was ushered through an unassuming door, suddenly finding herself face to face with Elsa, as well as Rapunzel, Merida, Eugene and Hans.

"That's the last one, miss," the man murmured.

"I'm well-aware, Henry. Thank you."

As soon as the door closed, Elsa smiled at them. "Well, I'm sure that you all know why I asked to speak to you."

"Um, well, no, not really," Hans muttered, rubbing a hand through his immaculate hair.

"Well, I did not really get the chance to go over a few details with you last week, and now that you've graduated, your internships have officially come to an end."

"Right," Rapunzel nodded. "We were aware of that."

"I imagine you were, yes," Elsa said with a patient smile. "As far as I know, none of you left any unfinished projects, so that's something we needn't worry over, at least. That means there is just some paperwork that needs to be signed."

"Paperwork?" Eugene asked with raised eyebrows. "I thought we had taken care of everything before we left?"

"Most of it, yes," Elsa explained as she pulled some papers out of her bag. "There's just some NDA's regarding the Oaken resort," she continued, pointing at the papers she placed on the desk. "And your contracts, should you choose to accept the job offers Arendelle Corporation is extending."

"Job offers?" four voices chimed almost in unison.

"Yes," Elsa responded matter-of-factly. "I discussed this with some of the senior project managers you've worked with during your internship, and they universally agreed that you have been great assets to us. Hence, you will all be offered a permanent place in the business. Entry-level, of course, but with plenty of opportunities to grow."

"All of us?" Merida asked loudly. "Jobs for all of us?"

"Yes," Elsa said decidedly. "If you want them, they're yours. Honesty compels me to tell you that Anna's job offer is somewhat different from yours, considering her different activities during her internship. She will, basically, continue the job she has been doing so far."

"That seems fair," Rapunzel mused. "Regardless of all that, a job offer for Arendelle Corp is an opportunity I can hardly dismiss. I'm in."

"I think I speak for all of us if I say we're in," Hans smiled smugly. "You'd have to be an idiot not to be."

There was a short business as they signed the contracts Elsa placed in front of them, after which the blonde put all of the papers away again. "Marvellous. I expect to see all of you Monday morning during my start-of-the-week speech. Olaf will make sure that you find your offices and such. Now, shoo, go enjoy the festivities."

"Yes, boss-lady!" Eugene cheered, causing the others to roll his eyes, but follow him eagerly regardless.

Walking into Arendelle Corp's main foyer, it took Olaf mere seconds to appear by her side, notepad in hand, and already buzzing with caffeine.

"Morning, Anna. Mr. Sharp called again, slightly outraged and asking when Miss Arendelle will finally have time for him."

Not breaking her stride, and knowing Olaf to be right beside her every step of the way, Anna hummed thoughtfully. "Tell him Elsa – ahem, Miss Arendelle – will be unavailable for two more weeks. If he wants to get a headstart on his project, he'll simply have to do business with me, and we can pencil him in for a meeting on Thursday afternoon."

"Noted," Olaf murmured with a nod, before firing off the next point on his list. "Apparently, there's some flaw with the blueprints for the new theatre downtown, the team asked if we-"

"Send Rapunzel and her team," Anna interrupted, finger jabbing the elevator button. "They're the best when it comes to fixing flaws. It's what her team was put together for, after all."

"Very well. Let's see… ah, yes, Miss Lance of Pro-techt called about the proposed expansions, and wanted to know how things were faring…"

"I have some sketches ready on my desk upstairs. As far as I'm concerned, she can come by next week so we can go over them."

"Alright, I'll let her know. Elsa sent me an e-mail to make sure you don't forget to have lunch, so don't be too harsh on me when you look at your schedule and find lunch in bold red letters smack-dab in the middle of every day."

"Duly noted. I'll send her an email to tell her never to leave me in charge of her company again. Really, what did she think would happen?"

"Well," Olaf hedged. "You have been working here for quite a few years now… And you've been working closely with her for the majority of that time… So I'd say there's really no one more suited to the job."

"Yes, well…"

"You just don't want her to leave town again, right?" Olaf laughed.

"Maybe," Anna grumped in response. "Basically, yes. Anyway! Anything else I need to know?"

"Nothing urgent," Olaf responded immediately, pulling out his phone. "Although Hans and his team warned you about the possibility of an incoming call from an unhappy client."

"Great. It's always good to have something to look forward to," Anna sighed forlornly.

Stepping out of the elevator on the topmost floor, Anna bee-lined for her office – Elsa's office – their office, dropping down at one of the two large mahogany desks that stood pushed together. In the blink of an eye, Olaf was standing next to her again as the redhead shuffled through some of the papers on the desk.

"So, if you could give Miss Lance a call and schedule an appointment for sometime next week, and take these blueprints down to the archive… and, if it's not too much trouble, return these folders to the corresponding architects?"

"That's what I'm here for," Olaf chimed happily. "That's literally what I'm paid to do. If that's all, I should get to work."

"That's all for now," Anna chuckled, firing up her laptop.

"Good, then I'll be off. Don't forget lunch!"

Anna absent-mindedly responded she wouldn't, already engrossed in the pile of paperwork in front of her. Since her graduation four years ago, Elsa had left town for business half a dozen times, and Anna had been in charge each and every time. At the start, it was her and Olaf. And then, when everyone had grown accustomed to her being Elsa's second-in-command, it had just been her. It had made sense when, half a year ago, Elsa had officially made her vice-president of the company.

Anna's head still got loopy when she thought about the fact she actually owned shares in a company now. And that people respected her enough to listen.

Nevertheless, she couldn't wait until Elsa got back. And not just for professional reasons…

"Anna, we need to talk."

"Of course Elsa," the redhead murmured without looking up. "Just let me finish this up and then we'll… Elsa?!"

"Yes," the blonde dead-panned, still standing in the doorway. "We need to talk."

"What are you doing here?" Anna blurted suddenly. "I just told Olaf to tell Mr. Sharp that you wouldn't be back for a while, and if I'd known that you'd be back sooner, I'd have cleaned up the mess I made on your desk and-"

"Anna, we need to talk," Elsa repeated more forcefully.

"Yeah, I know, you just said that but-"

Rolling her eyes with an exasperated sigh, the blonde decided to interrupt. "Anna, could you shut up for a moment and let me talk?"

"Oh…" Anna muttered. "Right. Sure. Sorry."

The blonde took a deep breath before starting. "You're right, I wasn't supposed to be back in town yet. But I was in a business meeting, and it suddenly struck me that I was entirely in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was like a fog suddenly lifted, and I rushed back here as quickly as I could."

Anna waited for her to continue, but when no words came, she cocked her head to the side quizzically. "What's here?"

"You are…" Elsa murmured, stepping closer and taking Anna's hands in her own.

Anna gave the hands a soft squeeze, chuckling awkwardly. "True… But I'm always here, Els. I'd still be here when you came back in two weeks."

"I know that. And maybe that's part of the reason why I came back here…"

"I'm… not sure I'm following," Anna admitted sheepishly. "Scratch that, I'm plenty sure that I'm not, actually."

Elsa chuckled embarrassedly. "No, I suppose you wouldn't be. I'm kind of making a mess out of this, so I'd be surprised if you had any clue as to what I was talking about. Let me start over."

The blonde closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, it seemed as if she had steeled her resolve. "We've been together for years now, and while I love you to the end of the world, I don't think I've made it clear enough how much that actually is. When I was out there, just the thought of you being here, waiting for me to come back, was enough to bring a smile to my face. The thought that you didn't know how much I loved you was almost physically painful…"

Another silence fell between them, and Anna grinned impishly. "I still have no idea where you're going with this impromptu speech, but if this is just you telling me how much you love me, feel free to keep going. Girl can't ever get enough flattery, right?"

Elsa rolled her eyes fondly, telling Anna to shut up with a single look. "I kind of rushed out of an important meeting with a ridiculous reason, and had to run some unexpected errands before I came here… But everything worked out better than planned, in the end. No, Anna, this is not just me telling you how much I love you…"

Anna's jaw sagged as she watched Elsa lower herself onto one knee. "This is me asking you to marry me…"

Several long seconds passed before Anna tearfully nodded her head, causing Elsa to stand back up and wrap the redhead in a tight hug. "I know it was awfully sudden, and not nearly as romantic as you deserve, but we can-"

"Ohmigod woman," Anna groaned. "Just shut up and let me enjoy the moment, would you?"

* * *

 **Alright, that's it people. I'd like to thank everyone for reading, and once again: I apologize if this leaves you in any way wanting. I did the best I could, and that's all we can ever do, right?**


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